First Meeting with A Transsexual

J. B. writes:

> Having spent some time browsing the various posts in this group, I feel I’m better prepared to meet my transsexual cousin for the first time. However, I would be grateful for any advice anyone can give me. My cousin was originally male and is around 45 years old. I know he is currently undergoing hormone therapy but I don’t think he has had the surgery yet. I last saw him about three years ago and he gave no clue as to his desire to be female. His dad (my uncle) called me about 2 weeks ago with the news and I have to say I was a bit shocked. I’ve written to my cousin and he has replied with an upbeat newsy type letter. He has asked that I call him to arrange a time and place to meet up. I haven’t called yet and am rather nervous of doing so, yet determined nonetheless. I’m saddened that we haven’t kept in touch over the years (I’m male aged 34) and don’t want him to think I’m only getting in touch out of some weird curiosity.

First, your feelings are fairly typical for someone facing this issue for the first time. You can take some comfort in the probability that your cousin has encountered this before, and expects it.

Also, it is typical for many of us that no one else has a clue about how we feel or what we want, until we start coming to terms with it in ourselves. Again, your cousin will probably expect that you didn’t know; that too is normal. And shock is a fairly common first reaction. The closer you’ve been to someone, the more the shock.

You don’t mention whether your cousin is currently living as a female. In the U.S., one year of cross-living is required prior to surgery. If your cousin is now living as a female, then using her female name, and using female pronouns, would be most appropriate (and most appreciated). If your cousin is still living as a male, then ask what name and pronouns he/she would like you to use. (It’s OK to ask questions; your cousin probably expects you to ask a LOT of questions!) A time period of adjustment (for you!) to these changes is also normal.

It’s OK to be nervous, and it’s OK to be getting in touch with him/her because of this change in her life. It’s normal for family members to lose touch with each other, and to become closer when some event brings them back together again. The only thing that’s unusual in this case is the event itself! If getting together with your cousin brings up other feelings of friendship and past family events or issues, then you certainly won’t be coming across as merely “curious.”

The fact that you’ve already exchanged letters is a good start. As you call and as you meet with your cousin, I strongly suggest being open and direct and honest about your feelings, starting with being nervous. Feelings will be communicated whether you talk about them or not; it’s best to talk openly, so your cousin will know why you feel a particular way. It’s also a good way to address the issues in general; there are certain factual aspects about being a transsexual, but most of the issues that really matter are emotional. If your cousin can write an “upbeat, newsy” letter, then she’s probably ready to deal with the emotional side of talking with you.

Finally, thank you for taking the time and trouble to find out what you can before meeting your cousin, and for asking for assistance. I appreciate that you’ve done that! You’re off to a fine start as far as accepting these changes in your cousin’s life, and your attitude so far feels good and right to me. Good luck, and enjoy renewing your connections with your cousin.

firelily.com/gender/diane/first.mtg.html – 2002

Transgender Native Americans

Transgendered Native Americans are frequently referenced as nearby, non-European models of both transgenderism and homosexuality. Unfortunately a great many erroneous suppositions are circulating with regard to transgendered Native Americans, and recent explications by gay historians serve to obscure the more important elements of gender in order to make a gay political point. This article is intended to briefly correct some of the common misunderstandings, not to be a complete or definitive statement on transgendered Native Americans.

The term ‘berdache’ was formerly used by white people in reference to Native Americans born male who were living as women. The term comes from the Arabic by way of the French, it’s original meaning is ‘slave boy’ or ‘catamite’. As such it conveys European ignorance of and contempt for transgendered Native Americans, and its use is considered insulting and erroneous by Native Americans. Unfortunately, modern transgendered Native Americans are at a distinct disadvantage, as white domination has eroded traditional tolerance and respect for transgendered Native Americans, as Native Americans, under economic, political, cultural, religious, and military domination by white people, worked to shed those customs which brought ridicule and punishment upon them by the white conquerors. Kachina clowns, transgendered people, contraries, and other people the white men found bizarre were suppressed, and many modern Native Americans are largely unaware of the former acceptance and respect given them.

All parties concerned agree that ‘berdache’ should be dropped, and when possible, replaced by the appropriate term for the particular tribe under discussion. The term ‘two-spirited’, however, is enjoying a vogue in certain circles as a generic replacement for ‘berdache’. It is not by any means accepted by all transgendered Native Americans, for various reasons. Therefore this article will refer to ‘transgendered Native Americans’ as the term least likely to give offense and most likely to be understood.

Objections to the term ‘two-spirited’ illuminate many of the dilemmas and traditions facing transgendered Native Americans. First, ‘two-spirited’ is used to mean ‘queer’, that is to say, it is used to refer to gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered Native Americans. As such, it reflects white concepts of gender and orientation, for in traditional societies, such people were integrated into the tribe. They were not ‘two-spirited’, but true spirited, that is to say, they abided by the principle of dreaming themselves into existence, and their single minded devotion to their visions was integrated and whole, not divided and torn, as implied by the term ‘two-spirited’. In some places, the word ‘two-spirited’ is an insult applied to halfbreeds, or Indians who have ‘sold out’ and adopted white ways. As such, it defines a person who is torn from his ancestral ways, and as such, it may sometimes be an apt description of transgendered people whose tribes do not understand and accept them, but it serves only to emphasize the alienation of the transgendered person rather than to tie him to older, wiser concepts.

Other critics object to the term ‘two-spirited’ being applied to gay, lesbian, and bisexual people who are not gender variant. Transgenderism among Native tribes was very much a phenomenon of gender, not orientation. Orientation, as modern white people understand it, was not known among the tribes before the white men. Intimate relationships were dictated by one’s gender role, not one’s affectional preference–though of course there were always individuals who varied from those standards, and ways of sublimating homosexuality through socially accepted rituals. One such ritual was blood brotherhood, in which two men mingled their blood and were sworn to be always loyal to one another, to rescue one another when in danger, and to support one another in undertaking challenges. It was often observed that men loved their blood brothers more than their biological brothers or even their wives, and this was considered appropriate, normal, and manly; the homoerotic interpretation of such intense intimate relationships was not discussed.

Another important objection to the term ‘two-spirited’, is that the creation of a pseudo- Indian terms implies that transgenderism was a universal phenomenon among the tribes, when it was not. Approximately one third of North American tribes have been documented as having visible transgendered customs, which means it was far from a universal phenomenon. Further, it completely ignores Native Americans of Central and South American, about whom little is known to English-speakers, as well as non-Indian Native Americans, such as the Inuit of the Arctic and sub-Arctic regions.

It is important to clarify the arena of transgendered discussion: most, though not all, of the tribes exhibiting transgenderism were located in the Canadian and American West, especially the Plains Peoples and the Pueblo Peoples. Plains images dominate thinking about Native Americans, and it is important to understand that the following discussion does not apply to Woodland Tribes east of the Mississippi, the northern reaches of Canada and Alaska, and numerous other places.

Plains culture was extremely free, in that Plains Peoples were generally prosperous enough that very small units could support themselves, coming together in large communities only for Sundance and winter camp. Thus idiosyncrasities in individuals were much more easily tolerated as they didn’t constantly rub elbows with other people who might object. If a Plains person didn’t like his neighbor, he could always pack his tipi and leave. Pueblo Peoples, being agrarian, had much more tight knit, ritualistic, and formal organizations and traditions, as a result of which transgendered behavior was carefully channeled in socially approved ways, as compared to transgendered Plains People who were free to express themselves pretty much however they liked — within certain limits.

Without going into specific detail for each tribe, the loose procedure for detecting and raising a transgendered child was notice his or her preference for the tools and duties typical of men or women. The tribes had sharply defined gender roles, which were enforced through shame, but they did not assign gender roles based on genitals, but rather upon the temperament and occupational preferences of the child. Thus young children were labeled ‘boy’ or ‘girl’ at any early age, long before sexual orientation would manifest. At this point it is important to point out that effeminacy is not a predictor of homosexuality in men, neither is masculinity a predictor of homosexuality in women. Only a small percentage of gay men and women fit the stereotype of ‘sissy’ or ‘tomboy’. The vast majority have gender identity and appearance consonant with their genital gender. Thus one cannot assume that gender variant Native American children were also homosexual. On the contrary, most of them were probably heterosexual, and had to learn the sexual expression appropriate to their gender role. However, it is impossible to state with any positive proof what the orientation of gender variant Native American children actually was.

A child with a penis who was raised as a girl was considered a girl in all ways, and generally married a man. They were viewed as women by their tribes, and as such they were commonly the receptive partner for anal intercourse with their husbands. (Hence the French labeling them ‘berdache’ or catamites.) Plains People were polygamous, with men marrying several wives. Transgendered women were considered good wives and respected for their wisdom. Since a man generally had several genetic women as wives, he had plenty of children, and so the inability of a transgendered woman to conceive was not a problem. On the contrary, it meant that at least one wife at any given time (the transgendered wife) would not be preoccuppied with pregnancy, nursing, or the care of small children, and could be depended upon to perform necessary household chores while the mothers tended their children. For this reason transgendered wives have sometimes been construed as ‘servants’ with low status.

Grandparents and other elders also helped in the raising of the children and performance of household duties, nonetheless, while the Plains People were prosperous, there was still a lot of work to be done. High mortality rates among the men (in some cases women outnumbered men by a two to one margin), made polygamy and an extended family necessary in order to provide for the support of widows and orphans. Transgendered wives were an important element of that system. This did not leave much time for pursuing one’s personal affectional preferences, whatever they might be. Affairs did happen among the tribes, but most tales refer to young people eloping. Once saddled with the responsibilities of a family, presumably opportunities for hanky panky diminished.

Transgendered men also occurred among the tribes, but not as frequently, and are not as well documented. People born female, who preferred male activities, were raised as men and married women; they hunted, fought, and even became chiefs. While it seems apparent that their tribes were aware that a transgendered man’s genitals differed from his gender role, it was irrelevant, and apparently not used against them by hostile persons. (Until white influence made itself felt.)

Among some of the Pueblo Peoples, tests were deliberately given to young children, such as placing a child, a bow, and a weaving shuttle within a hut, and setting it on fire. Whichever item the child grabbed as it ran out of the hut determined its gender role in the tribe. Among the Plains People, dreams were very important, and people were obliged to live up to their dreams to the best of their ability. Thus if a person of any age dreamed himself as the opposite sex, he would adopt that role. Sometimes transgendered people slid back and forth between roles, assuming male name and garb for hunting and fighting, but donning female garb and name for domestic chores. This seems to have been rare. Usually transgendered people stayed in one role or the other.

White reaction to transgendered people varied. Often they did not realize that the transgendered person was in fact transgendered. Probably the most famous of Native American transgendered person was He’Hwa, a Zuni. She was a notable craftswoman, and greatly admired by her people and by white people who knew her. She visited Washington, DC, where she demonstrated Native crafts and was wildly popular. Later, when it was discovered that she had male genitalia, her white supporters continued to refer to her as a woman, and to discount the significance of her discordant genitalia, in concordance with tribal custom. Modern gay historians, on the other hand, view this as evidence of homophobia so intense that white people could not accept that He’wha was a man married to a man. However, it seems clear that contemporary white people understood and respected He’wha on the same terms as her tribe did; by contrast, modern gay authors are sufficiently ignorant of transgenderism and tribal customs that they give the greatest weight to genitals, when in fact in the cultural context genitalia were insignificant. It is not recorded if anybody asked He’wha what her sexual preference was, therefore it is impossible to impute an orientation to her, as the word ‘orientation’ is used in modern circumstances. Men in enforced male environments such as shipboard and prison engage in ‘situational homosexuality’, meaning sexual gratification with other men only because no females are available. Considering the firmness of gender roles in Pueblo culture, it is probable that a similar weight of circumstance dictated a functional orientation, as opposed to expression of affectional orientation.

Which begs the question, what is homosexuality? Is it the act of engaging in sex with a member of one’s own gender? What is the ‘own gender’ of a transgendered person? A man, woman, or another transgendered person? Or is orientation determined by desires (which might never be acted on)? ‘Orientation’ is therefore a very slippery concept, loaded with emotional weight and impossible to define in a satisfactory way. Gender role, by contrast, is much more concrete, apparent and discernible. We can say with complete confidence that He’wha was a transgendered woman, but we don’t know if sie considered herself a man in a dress engaged in a gay relationship, or a woman with a minor bodily aberration, considerately overlooked by her husband, and therefore involved in a heterosexual relationship. Transgenderism blows apart the careful dichotomy of gay and straight, as well as the sexual apartheid of man and woman.

In truth, no one is an ‘ism’, or any other form of label. Each of us is a unique being, inlfluenced by other people’s perceptions. The Native Americans of the American and Canadian West enjoyed a personal liberty and self-actualization rarely experienced by white people, and as such, even American,s who have a reputation as rugged individualists, are still not able to conceive just how individualistic ordinary Indians were. Put in a context where all people were dreaming themselves into existence, transgenderism is one of many unique ways a personality might manifest itself. The Native mandate to live up to visions and dreams seems extraordinary to people who are accustomed to dismissing dreams as irrelevant fantasies and who enforce a homogenous lifestyle while at the same time lauding personal liberty. The fundamental perplexity of mainstream American life is, “To thine ownself be true, as long as you aren’t too weird.”

That is probably why the image of the transgendered Native American has such appeal: we all wish that we were free to be who we truly are, to be respected for our unique gifts, and to not have to battle to defend our vision of self against the force of convention.

Transgendered Native Americans

1999, amboyz.org

Transgender Parents!

Okay, let me start off by saying that no, of couse I don’t have all the answers, who does? I just have a lot of life experience as far as the children of transgendered parents are concerned.

So, let’s see, my name is Jess, I’m 17, I’ve been happily female my whole life and I don’t feel the need to change it any time soon. I live on my mother’s and stepmother’s farm. I don’t do farm stuff though; I’m a would-be suburbanite. My mom, Raven Kaldera, a FTM (female to male) and my step-mom, Bella Kaldera, a MTF (male to female) met when I was 7 and they fell madly in love, moved in with each other, blah, blah, blah.

When I was 8 my mom told me he was going to transition. He called me upstairs and said, “Jess, honey, I have something very important to tell you, I’m going to become a boy…” Now I’ll whole-heartedly admit that I’m a freak; I’ve grown up around all sorts of strange people which also includes transgendered folks. But let me tell you something, it’s completely different when it happens to someone you love; someone like your mother no less. So of couse there was a moment’s pause then I replied, “Like Bella but reversed?” He started to laugh and said, “Yeah, it’s going to be a little bit like that. I’m going to change a lot, grow a beard and my voice will deepen.”

At this point I was a little worried; would my mother still love me the same? So I asked, “Will I be able to still call you momma?” He looked thoughtful for a moment and then responded, “If that will make you feel better then you may call me mom, dad or what ever makes you feel comfortable.” That was our compromise.

I can also say that I’ve been so deeply immersed in the transgendered community since such a young age that I’ve seen almost all it has to offer. Most notably information, which is very important in this case. I’ve seen so many transgendered parents come out and say, “I can’t tell my child this, what would they think? I don’t think they’d understand my reasons for doing it, what do I tell them?” and most popular of all, “What if they hate me for it?”

Well, I’m going to stop this one right in its tracks. They won’t hate you for being transgendered nearly as much as they will hate you for lying to them, I promise you that much. If they’re spiteful enough to hate you, then they would have found something else to be wrong with you or your life-style. Also, let me tell you right now: There Is Nothing You Could Do That Would Hurt Them More Than Not Telling Them! I could never, ever stress enough the importance of telling your child something this big. They will find out, and I mean will find out. I mean, when are you going to tell them? When they’re eighteen? “Hey, sweetie, since you’re an adult now I thought it would be time to tell you daddy/mom’s little secret.”

Waiting until they’re grown up to transition isn’t necessarily the right thing to do either. Kids learn form your examples. Having them grow up watching you be miserable and depressed and hate your body is not a good example to set for them. Watching you put off the most important decision of your life won’t exactly teach them how to figure out who they are and handle hard choices about their identity.

All right. Sorry about that, but it’s really hard to imagine that when this poor kid finds out, it might not be from the parent. You can best deliver this news to them in a way that’s easy to swallow, and that can get their fears, hopes, and most importantly, their questions answered. That means the parent’s questions too, as well as the kid’s. Questions, by the way, are a really good sign your kid is accepting the change. There are no bad questions. Questions are wounderful; encourage them whenever possible, it makes the child feel reassured and loved.

If there is a question that you can’t answer, don’t sweat it; there is an entire community of people who might have the answers. So, with your child, go and find out the answers. It’s good morale and helps them feel like they’re in on it too. Also never say, “Well, I’ll find out later,” and then drag your heels. The second you do that you’ve lost not only their trust but their support.

OK, next tough question. How do you make your kid understand? Imagine me rolling my eyes over here. I really shouldn’t have to even point this out, but you can’t make him or her do anything. You should lay it out for them in simple terms. This, of course, all depends on the age. Don’t talk to your teenager like they’re five; speak to them with the respect and honesty that you would a peer, or they won’t listen and they’ll feel resentful at you for it. On the other hand, don’t talk to your five-year-old like they’re an adult. Use words that they can understand, and leave the really big words like “vaginoplasty” and “mastectomy” for a later conversation that they should be the ones to bring up. Try to stick to short 2-syllable compound words like “support-group” and “you’re always going to be my (insert cutesy catch phrase for child here) no matter how I look.” It’s very important to make this point.

There’s something else important that needs to be said. Some transgendered people, after transition, don’t want their kid to call them “Mom” or “Dad” anymore, especially not in public, because they fear that it would out them, and they may not want the reminder of their “past life”. They ask the kid to call them “Aunt Betty” or “Uncle Joe” or something else. Let’s stress this: it isn’t fair to ask a kid to call you something other than what they’ve been calling you for years. Exceptions to this rule might be: 1) if there is no other parent and the kid is excited about suddenly having a parent of the opposite sex; 2) the kid is a baby (or not born yet) and will grow up calling you by a title of your preferred gender, or 3) if the kid is an older teen or adult who feels comfortable negotiating public and private designations. If the kid is still young, don’t make them do it. Allowing them to keep calling you by your old familiar title will help them to feel like they’re not really losing a mom or dad, and help them be more comfortable with the situation. You had this child; you took on the responsibility at their birth of putting them first, before other people in your life. What do you value more, their emotional well-being or the opinions of strangers in the mall?

Now, a really hard question I’ve actually had to answer is “How will they react to this mind bending info?” Well, two possible reacttions might be: 1) They already know on some level, and most likely will have a lot of questions for you. Be sure to find some way to answer them all. Or 2) they’re completely shocked and need a little time to adjust. If this happens, don’t worry, it’s a natural way of coping. Just be calm and tell them no questions are bad, you’ll always love them and you won’t treat them differently. Keep true to your promises, especially the last one.

And as for the “They won’t understand my reasons for this big change…” thing (see me putting my hands on my hips and glowering at you), that’s not an excuse and you know it. Whether or not they “get it” largely depends on you, and how you explain it to them. (Talk to other transgendered people in your community who have already transitioned for good advice on how to explain your identity and needs to clueless others.) And if you don?t want to put in the effort to explain it to them, you’re in trouble, because if you make this change, you’ll be explaining to people and educating them for the rest of your life, so you?d better get used to it. The people who love you are the best place to start, because they actually have a vested interest in understanding and accepting. Besides, if you don?t at least try, you?re failing your kid in the process.

I think I’ve talked myself out now, and I hope this wasn?t too harsh, but like many truths it needed to be said.

—

Yikes! You’re A Transgendered Parent! Now What Do You Do?

2002, Jessica Brangwyn, @amboyz.org

Transgender Glossary Terminology and Definitions

Most persons know some of the terminology in this list. But likewise, most persons do not know all of the listed terminology used by various members of the Transgender Community. As such, I thought that if we had a reference list of the terminology, that persons could refer to this to learn those parts of terminology which may be unknown to them.

APA : Two seperate Doctor based Associations which have the same 3 letter abreviation. American Psychiatric Association and American Psychological Association. Psychiatrists use the “Diagnostic and Statistical Manual” a manual of disorders of the mind. This manual lists both “Gender Identity Disorder” (Transsexuality) and “Transvestic Fetishism” (Cross Dressing) as mental illnesses.

ANDROGYNE : (Androgynous) and (Androgyny) Person who has gender traits of both masculine and feminine. Lacking of a clear or specified singular gender trait. Person identifies as both genders or neither of the two culturally defined genders; and/or who expresses and/or presents merged culturally / stereotypically feminine and masculine characteristics, or mainly neutral characteristics. may or may not express dual gender identity.

ASSIGNED GENDER ROLE: At birth, an assigned gender is determined by appearance of sexual anatomy. This determines the role

a child is raised in either Male or Female. Documented by a doctor who assists in the birth.

AUTOGYNEPHILIA: a paraphilia proposed in 1989 by Ray Blanchard, who defined it as “a man’s paraphilic tendency to be sexually aroused by the thought or image of himself as a woman.” Part of a controversial behavioral model for transsexual sexuality informally labeled the Blanchard, Bailey, and Lawrence theory. The model is an attempt to explain transwomen (male-to-female transsexual and transgender persons) who are not exclusively attracted to males, including lesbian (or “gynephilic”), bisexual and asexual transwomen. The model claims that transwomen (called “gender dysphoric males” by Blanchard) who are not sexually oriented toward men are instead sexually oriented toward the thought or image of themselves as women. Most of the attention paid to Blanchard’s work on gender dysphoria focuses on what he calls “nonhomosexual transsexuals” or “autogynephilic transsexuals.” He calls those transwomen who are exclusively attracted to males “androphilic” or “homosexual transsexuals.” While some Transgender people self-identify with this term most Transsexuals vehemently oppose it because it does not apply to them. Transsexuality is inborn with symptoms being manifested by the age of 4 or 5 years of age while autogynephillia does not and those who identify with it report it ocurred in their teen years and beyond. Sexual orientation has nothing at all to do with Transsexuality.

BI-GENDERED : Person who can shift between masculine and feminine gender behaviour. This differes from the Androgyne in that an Androgyne keeps their gender role at all times whereas Bi-Gendered shift or change their role to suit the situation at that moment.

BINARY GENDER SYSTEM : Culturally defined code of acceptable behaviors, teaching that there can only be Male or Female roles. Where it comes to Transgendered Individuals this system becomes flawed, as Transgendred Individuals fall under a multi-gendered system, beyond the Binary Gender System.

BIND : (Binding) To Wrap or tape the Female Breast Tissue to make it appear to be flat like a Male Chest area. Action is performed by Female-to-Male Transsexuals. This is also performed by use of a binder, which is a rigid corset like item designed to flatten the female breast tissue so as to make it seem like a male chest area.

BIPHOBIA : (also Homophobia) The irrational fear of love, affection, and erotic behavior between people of the same gender. Expressed as negative feelings, attitudes, actions or behaviors against those perceived as non-heterosexuals. Often directed at those perceived as expressing or presenting culturally stereotypically non-heterosexual characteristics and or blurred gender roles. Biphobia also includes refuting the existance of bisexuality by believing every individual is either homosexual or heterosexual.

BISEXUAL : (Bi) A person who is emotionally, Sexually, Spiritually, or Physically attracted to persons from both the Male and Female Genders.

BOTTOM SURGERY : Term used for Genital Surgery performed below the waist. Term is most often used by Female-to-Male persons and referring to creation of a penis and simulated testicals in their case. Term is also used by some Male-to-Female persons for the surgery to create a neo vagina. Not all Transsexual persons from either case opt for this surgery. For some due to cost, some due to health, some simply due to personal choice.

BOYDYKE : A “Female bodied” person who intentionally or non-intentionally presents or expresses what is culturally sterotypical Male or masculine, boyish characteristic. Some wish to pass as a Male while remaining Female.

BREAST AUGMENTATION SURGERY : (BA) This surgery technically known as augmentation mammoplasty, is a surgical procedure to enhance the size and shape of a woman’s breast. The Male-to-Female individual may seek Breast Augmentation if they desire a larger bust size than is achieved through hormone therapy. Standard augmentation involves one or the other of two types of implants, either Saline or Silicone.

BREAST FORMS/BREAST ENHANCERS : Often an individual who is a Cross Dresser or a Male-to-Female Transsexual will use a Breast Form such as those made for and most often used by ladies who have had Mastectomies performed due to cancer. Most of these consist of Silicone shaped to look like a female breast and to have weight like a genuine natal breast would have. Also, there are some forms made out of foam rubber, which while giving a general appearance of a breast do not have the weighted bounce effect of a silicone breast form. Some MTF whom have achieved some breast growth via hormones but are not satisfied with size of their breasts, opt for a breast enhancer such as the style that go in the bra below the breasts to sort of push up the breasts and make them appear larger than they in reality are.

BUTCH : Term used to describe or identify a person who often self identifies or presents and expresses what is culturally sterotypical Male or masculine, boyish characteristics. Term can be used in both positive and negative ways.

CD : (Cross Dresser) : Person who wears clothing and items normally worn by the opposite gender from their own biological gender. An outdated older term for a CD is the term Transvestite. The majority of persons who CD are of heterosexual orientation, many even being happily married. However, there are also many whom are of a Gay orientation. While for some this is a way of simply experiencing a temporary role as the opposite gender in which they feel free from the rigours of their day to day life in their assigned gender, for others this also presents a sense of auto arousal by the wearing or the clothing of the oposite gender.

CHONDROLARYNGOPLASTY : Surgery involving Adam’s Apple Reduction or Trachea Shave. The surgeon reduces the cartilage in the throat to make the shape more feminine.

CIS-SEXUAL : Person who is not Transgendered and has one of the two Binary Genders as simply either Male or Female.

CLOCKED : (Getting Read) Being detected as a person who is cross-dressed.

COLOVAGINOPLASTY : This method of creating a vagina for the Male-to-Female individual, involves cutting away a section of the sigmoid colon and using it to form a vaginal lining. This surgery is also sometimes performed on females with androgen insensitivity syndrome, congenital adrenal hyperplasia, or vaginal agenesis, Mayer-Rokitansky syndrome, and other intersexed conditions, where non-invasive forms of lengthening the vagina cannot be done and, mostly, it is used on Male-to-Female transsexuals as an alternative to penile inversion with or without an accompanying skin graft taken usually from either the thigh or abdomen. Due to numerous potential complications most surgeons will use or recommend a colovaginoplasty method only when there is no other alternative. The use of this on Male-to-Female patients is generally reserved for those whom have attempted removal of their Male genitals and have made the general standard recognizable Reassignment Surgery methods unusable..

COMING OUT : The process of becoming aware of, understanding and accepting one’s own sexual orientation or gender identity. This also consists of the decision making process of identifying oneself openly in disclosure of this to another.

Conversion Therapy : Dangerous attempt to “Cure” Homosexuals or Transsexuals by Homophobic Religious groups. Loosly based on Reparative therapy declared outmoded by the American Psychiatric Association. Practice usually done by unlicensed Church “Counselors”. Methods used include extreme guilt, hellfire, Bible text, non-acceptance and damnation. Electrodes often placed on genitals to measure reactions. Church members are more interested in their own homophobic fears than the welfare of their patients. As one Exodus “Counselor” told a Gay man “You would be better off to commit suicide than go back to the homosexual lifestyle”. What therapy encourages death as an alternative? Upon completion members must sign a statement they have been “cured”. There are few long term followups and members questioned later often admit lying to their questioners. “Cures” are almost always short term and for transgender people amount to nothing more than temporary Purging. The danger afterwards is increased suicide attempts as evidenced by users in our crisis rooms here. This therapy is not recommended as it is dangerous and deadly.

CORSET : A corset is a very constrictive ladies undergarment worn by some Cross Dressers and Male-to-Female Transsexuals in an atempt to mold and shape their torso into a desired Female shape for the aesthetic purposes of more readily appearing curvy and Female, by reducing the waist, and thereby lifting the bust if any and more readily showing the hips. There are some corset tops which are designed with a mini corset as an outer part of the garment. Often these are designed to cater to goth cultural fashions. Historically a corset has lacing to hold it together at the back. Sometimes it is at the front instead. Tightening or loosening the lacing produces changes in how firm or rigid the corset will be. Most full size corsets with back lacing are almost impossible to be properly laced by the wearer alone, thus normally requiring a second person to tighten the lacing and tie it off. Button or hook front busks on some corsets allow a wearer to remove them without untieing them and re-place them on their body at a later date all by themself. It should be noted however, that this process can seriously damage the busk of the corset. This is because it is under extreme pressure in most cases. Corsets are most often comprised of flexible materials such as coutil cloth, or leather and stiffened with boning also referred to as ribs or stays, inserted into channels in the cloth or leather. Plastic is now the most commonly used material in lightweight corsets, whereas spring or spiral steel is preferred for stronger corsets. Corsets preferably should be fitted to the individual wearer.

CROSS-LIVING : Act of cross dressing full time 24/7 living in the role of the opposite gender full time, perceiving oneself as the opposite gender but not transsexual as the person does not wish to physically change gender.

DE-TRANSITION : To return to living as a member of one’s biological sex after extended full time living as one’s target sex.

DRAG : (F : Drag King, M : Drag Queen, Female or Male Impersonator) Individuals who exaggerate cross dressed gender roles often for purposes of performances at gatherings or on stage. Some Drag Queens even get breast implants to help with their performance role. Some live the role full time.

DYKE : (Femme Dyke, Bi Dyke, Butch Dyke) Terms used from both negative view and positive view. A “female-body” person or woman identifying with other women as their interest. Historically the terminology was used in the negative to identify lesbians expressing male culturally stereotypically masculine characteristics, but has been used in the positive view of self identification by many modern lesbians. (Femme) more feminine version. (Bi) may show some interest in men but is primarily interested in women. (Butch) Acts more male like and is normally only interested in women.

EFFEMINATE : Term used often in negative context, to identify a person usually of male origin who expresses or presents what are stereotypically culturally feminine characteristics.

ENDO(CRINOLOGIST) : A doctor who deals with the endocrine glands and their hormones. This doctor is the one who prescribes estrogen and progesterone in one form or another for the Male-to-Female individual, and prescribes testosterone for the Female-to-Male individual. This is also the doctor who monitors the persons endocrinological functions on hormones via bloodwork.

F2M / FTM : (Female-to-Male) Term used to identify a person of Female Biological birth whom identifies as Male. Lives in the Male role and identifies as Masculine. Most will try for Testosterone to take on Male secondary sexual characteristics. Most opt for Top Surgery to reduce the Female Breasts to Male size. Some opt for the Hysterectomy and Bottom Surgery involving creation of a penis from the clitoris and creation of a scrotum with testicular shaped implants. Some do not go for bottom surgery for reasons ranging from cost, health, or personal choice. Many prefer the newer term Transman.

FAG : Derogatory Term that historically has been used in the negative by society, but is also positively used as a self identifier by some persons. A Male bodied person or Man who identifies with other Men as their attraction. Historically used in negative context of labeling Gay Males who express or present a cutural stereotipically Feminine set of characteristics.

FEMALE BODIED : (FemBody) A person who was assigned to Female Gender at birth, or whom has had their genitals surgically altered to be a woman or girl, either by personal choice or often by parental choice in many cases of an intersexxed child.

FEMME : Term used for a person whom identifies with being a woman, who understands the power and seduction of the feminine spirit, and or one whom is powerful as a woman. Can be used to identify a person whom expresses and or presents culturally stereotypically feminine characteristics. Dependant on context, it may be used as a positive or a negative term.

GAFF : A type of panty designed to hide the male bulge by tucking it away in a pocket or pouch within it so as to hold the penis between the legs giving the appearance that there is no penis at all. This item is often worn by individuals who Cross Dress, or by Pre-Op Male-to-Female Transsexuals.

GAY : Term used to describe a person whom is emotionally, spiritually or physically attracted primarily to persons of the same gender. A person (normally a male) whom accepts same gender attraction and identifies as gay.

GENDER BENDER : (Gender Blender) Term used for a person who merges characteristics of all genders either in subtle ways or whom intentionally flaunts merged or blurred cultural stereotipical gender norms for purpose of shocking others, without a concern for passing.

GENDER DYSPHORIA : Term used to describe the intense continuous discomfort resulting from an individuals belief in the inappropriateness of their assigned gender at birth and resulting gender role expectations. A clinical psychological diagnosis, which is offensive to many in the Transgender community, but is required to receive Hormone Replacement Therapy and or Sexual Reassignment Surgery. (SRS, GRS).

GENDER IDENTITY : An inner sense that one is or belongs to a particular sex.

GENDER COMMUNITY : (Transgender Community) A loose association of individuals and organizations who transgress gender norms in a variety of ways. Celebrating a recently born self awareness, this community is growing fast across all lines. The central ethic of this community is unconditional acceptance of individual exercise of freedoms including gender and sexual identity and orientation.

GENDER PHOBIA : (Transphobia) The irrational fear of those who are perceived to break and or blur cultural stereotypical gender roles, often assumed to be queer. Expressed as negative feelings, attitudes, actions or behaviors against those perceived as breaking and or blurring cultural stereotypical gender roles.

GENDER QUEER : Term which is used by some individuals whom may or may not fit on the spectrum of Trans, or be labeled as Trans, but whom identify their gender and sexual orientation to be outside the assumed norm.

GENDER REASSIGNMENT SURGERY : (GRS, Sex Reassignment Surgery-SRS) : Permanent surgical refashioning of genetalia to resemble the genetalia of the desired gender. Sought to attain congruence between one’s body and one’s gender identity.

GENDER ROLES : What one’s society and culture says that Males and Females are like. The socially constructed and culturally specific behavior and appearance expectations imposed on Females (femininity) and Males (masculinity).

Gender Therapist : Licensed Therapist who follows the HBIGDA (Wpath) Transgender Standards of Care. Encourages legal prescription hormone use prescribed usually by an Endocrinoligist with a letter recommendation by the therapist. Obtaining horomones illegally without medical testing can and has led to death most notably from “Thrombobis” or dangerous blood clots. The therapist provides guidance during RLE and provides recommendation letter for GRS. Many object to HBIGDA as “Gatekeeping” However it is the safest alternative now available. Others argue that Transsexuality is not a mental illness as outlined in DSM IV and that it is a medical condition. Perhaps this will change in DSM V due out in 2011.

GENETIC SEX : Term used to refer to chromosomal makeup of a individual. Often used to refer to assigned gender at birth.

GETTING READ : (Clocked) Being detected as a person who is cross-dressed.

GID : (Gender Identity Disorder) According to the DSM .. a mental illness where one believes they have a gender identity that is incongruant to their biological gender. (See Gender Dysphoria Above.).

Harry Benjamin Syndrome: Also known as HBS this is purported to be an Intersex condition that is said to occur in the womb in the first twelve weeks after conception. It is based on the brain sex theory by Harry Benjamin for Transsexuals. Other studies done though do not agree. The creator’s of HBS are not medical professionals and it is not accepted by the American Medical Association. While the theory is an excellent thesis it is not accepted as fact in the medical Community. These unqualified lay-people have written their own unauthorized Standards of Care which are not medically valid or accepted. The only accepted Transgender Standards of Care are HBIGDA (Wpath) which is signed by medical professionals. The HBS SOC has no medical signatures on it.

HERMAPHRODITE : Outdated term for an Intersexxed person. (see Intersexxed below in list.).

HETEROFLEXIBLE : (straight-ish, homo-flexible). Individuals who are mostly attracted to another gender, but have had or are open to having same sex relationships or behaviors.

HETEROSEXUAL : An individual who is emotionally, spiritually, physically, and or sexually attracted to those of the opposite gender.

HETEROSEXISM : The institutionalized assumption that everyone is heterosexual and that heterosexualism is inherently superior to and preferable to homosexuality or bisexuality.

HIR : A gender term used by some in place of Him or Her, a new pronoun for those folks who stand outside the binary gender system that we have in society.

HOMOPHOBIA : (also Biphobia) The irrational fear of love, affection, and erotic behavior between people of the same gender. Expressed as negative feelings, attitudes, actions or behaviors against those perceived as non-heterosexuals. Often directed at those perceived as expressing or presenting culturally stereotypically non-heterosexual characteristics and or blurred gender roles. Biphobia also includes refuting the existance of bisexuality by believing every individual is either homosexual or heterosexual.

HOMOSEXUAL : An individual who is emotionally, spiritually or physically attracted primarily to persons of the same gender.

HORMONE REPLACEMENT THERAPY : (HRT, Hormonal Sex Reassignment). Administration of hormones to affect the development of secondary sex characteristics of the opposite assigned gender. This process that is lifelong, of using hormones to change the internal body chemistry. For Male to Female Estrogens are used, and for Female to Male Androgens are used (Testosterone). Hormone use without medical supervision is strongly discouraged as it has resulted in thousands of Transgender deaths. Herbal concotions taken in large doses not approved by the FDA have also resulted in deaths and disabilty as well as having poor results. Don’t be fooled by herbal companies marketing to transgenders for profit with exaggerated claims. Save your money for prescription hormones.

HYSTERECTOMY : Operation performed to remove the Uterus. In cases of the Female-to-Male individual this operation also includes removal of the Cervix, Ovaries, and Fallopian tubes.

IN THE CLOSET : Not disclosing, (referenced to coming out) Being secretive about an individual’s own sexual orientation and or gender identity.

INTERNALIZED HOMOPHOBIA/TRANSPHOBIA : The belief that same-gender sexual orientation and or gender identity is inferior to heterosexual orientation and or masculine or feminine gender identity. The internalization of negative messages, feelings about oneself and one’s group, and beliefs about how people like you should be treated, which often leads to self-hate and difficulty with self-acceptance. Also irrational fear of breaking cultural or stereotypical gender roles.

INTERSEX(XED) : An individual born with full or partial genetalia of both genders, or with underdeveloped genitalia. Some are born with internal organs of a Female with no external signs of Female but with Male external genitalia. Surgery is common in infancy, when a singular gender is assigned. Many who are assigned such without self choice develop a sense or feeling of a loss of (an) essential part(s) of themself. Often the person so assigned to one sex by surgery in infancy wishes to be the gender opposite the one chosen for them.

LABIAPLASTY : This surgery for the Male-to-Female individual is normally only needed in cases where a surgeon uses a two-stage vaginoplasty procedure.It is the stage where labia and the clitoral hood are created.

LESBIAN : A person who identifies as a woman who is emotionally, spiritually, physically, and or sexually attracted primarily to members of the same gender. A Female who accepts her same gender attraction and identifies as lesbian.

M2F, MTF, MALE-TO-FEMALE : Term used to identify a person who was Male gendered at birth but whom identifies as Female, lives as a Woman, or identifies as Feminine. Some prefer the term Transwoman.

MALE BODIED : A person who was assigned to Male gender at birth, or a person who has had their genitals surgically altered to be a man.

MAMMAPLASTY : A surgery performed to increase or shrink the size of the breasts. (See BREAST AUGMENTATION SURGERY, above).

MAMMOGRAM : (Mammography) A cancer screening performed on Females. This screening is one which individuals whom are Male-to-Female transsexuals should partake of yearly after 40 years of age. It involves x-raying of the breast tissues for earliest detection of breast tumors before they can be otherwise seen or felt.

MASTECTOMY : The surgical removal of the Female breast tissue. For Female-to-Male Transsexuals. This surgery which is often referred to as top surgery, allows the individual to no longer have need of a binder, (See Bind, above) as from that point on the individual has Male sized breasts. This surgery is also performed on natal Females in cases of cancer.

METAMORPH : (Shape Shifter) Used by some people who choose not to identify as transsexual, to express their belief that they are not changing their gender, but rather changing their body to reflect their inner feelings and gender identity.

METAOIDIOPLASTY : This surgery for the Female-to-Male individual involves the freeing of the enlarged clitoris/penis from the underlying labia minora and dropping it via release of the suspensory ligament.

NEOCLITORIS : The created clitoris for a Male-to-Female Transsexual individual during Sex Reassignment Surgery. There are two ways to create a neoclitoris for the transsexual woman. The most common method is to remove the head or glans of the penis, and use some of that tissue to function in the position of a natal female’s clitoris. Some transsexual women have the entire penis head used as their clitoris. This partly depends on the doctor performing the surgery. Some have spongiform from their urethra’s used to function as the neoclitoris. Most transsexual women’s bodies readily accept the relocation of glans penile tissue in the area of a biological woman’s clitoris.

NON-LABELING : Individuals who find the existing labels too constrictive and or choose not to identify within a particular category.

NON-OP : Individuals who have not attained and may not desire to attain gender reassignment surgery, and may or may not take hormone replacement therapy. For many individuals, self-identification and self expression, through cross living or other methods of gender identity achieve harmony or congruence between one’s body and one’s gender identity and there is no need felt for surgical reconstruction. Or in some cases it is for medical reasons that one is forced to remain non-op. Also there are some for whom monitary reasons prevent the surgery thus making them remain in a non-op mode either temporarily or for extended periods of time and in many cases for life.

OBGYN(ECOLOGIST) : (gynecology) A doctor trained in the branch of medicine dealing with treatment of diseases of the female reproductive system, including the breasts. After Sex Reassignment Surgery, many Male-to-Female transsexuals opt to visit a OBGYN to have the doctor check that they are healing correctly. Also it is recommended that the MTF Post Op visit an gynecologist at least once yearly to be sure that she is healthy. While the MTF on has no cervix or uterus it is always possible to get cancer of the vagina. This type of doctor can make sure that the MtF PostOp individual is checked foer this in the yearly checkup.

OMNISEXUAL : A term used along with Pansexual. (See Pansexual below.).

ORCHIECTOMY : Surgery to remove the testes. This is opted for by some Male-to-Female individuals in order to reduce testosterone and stop the need for testosterone blocking medicines. This procedure can be used as both a step towards Reassignment Surgery or as a final procedure for those individuals who do not desire GRS.

PACK : Item placed in the underwear of a FTM Pre-Op to suggest the prescence of a penis there. Some use a rolled up sock or a dildo to produce this effectively.

PANSEXUAL : An individual who is emotionally, spiritually, physically, and or sexually attracted to those of any gender or physical makeup. (also sometimes referred to as omni-sexual, flexual, or multi-sexual).

PASSING : The ability for a person to present themselves in another gender than that which they live full time or which they were assigned at birth.

PHALLOPLASTY : Operation for construction of a Male genitalia (penis). Some procedures involve flaps of skin taken from the groin and abdomen, but more recent versions of this surgery involve the free forearm flap method of which involves a segment of skin from the forearm being bisected and used to form the penis. This method allows for sensitivity during intercourse in the constructed penis, as well as standing urination.

PRE-OP(ERATIVE) : Transsexual individuals whom have not yet attained gender reassignment surgery, but whom desire to and are seeking that option. They may or may not cross-live full time and may or may not take hormone therapy. They may also seek surgery to change secondary sexual characteristics.

POST-OP(ERATIVE) : Transsexua lindividuals who have attained gender reassignment surgery, and or other surgeries to change secondary sex characteristics.

PRESENTATION : The totality of one’s appearance when dressing, including voice, behavior, appropriateness of clothing for the situation, etc.

PRIMARY SEX CHARACTERISTICS : Male=Penis and Testes, Female=Vagina.

QUEER : Used to identify someone who aligns themselves with the trans, bisexual, lesbian, and gay (LGBT) community, a term which sometimes now is used in a positive self identification way by some amongst our vast community, but which historically was used only in the negative context to ridicule and label anyone not conforming to heterosexual persons and societal gender norms.

READ : Being identified as being a member of one’s biological sex in spite of presenting as a member of the target sex.

REAL LIFE TEST : (RLT or Life Test) A period of time required of individuals seeking reassignment surgery during which they must live full-time expressing and presenting the gender in and of which they identify as. Many doctors require a Real Life Test of two or more years before advancement to SRS (surgery). This Real Life Test period is necessary to be sure that an individual can capably adapt to the sought after gender role. Also known as RLE or Real Life Experience. Check with your surgeon for RLE time requirements as there are variations between them.

SECONDARY SEX CHARACTERISTICS : The changes that appear when a person reaches puberty. They include, but are not limited to : facial hair and body hair, muscle mass development, and voice changes for males. Breast development and curves for females. In both genders fertility or ability to reproduce. This also refers to the body changes brought on by taking HRT in cases of breast development, curves and emotional changes for MTF. Body and facial hair, muscle mass, voice depth changes, and agressive tendancy for FTM.

SEX ASSIGNMENT : The declaration, by a doctor, based on what your external genitalia look like, as to what gender you are, and that therefore you are supposed to grow up to exist within a certain set gender role.

SHAPE SHIFTER : (Metamorph) Used by some people who choose not to identify as transsexual, to express their belief that they are not changing their gender, but rather changing their body to reflect their inner feelings and gender identity.

SHAPEWEAR : Padded panties, girdles, or bras designed to help enhance or produce a female figure. Often used by Cross Dressers and Male-to-Female Transsexuals.

Shemale : Derogatory term coined by the porn industry to describe MTF’s who keep the genitals they were born with. Incorrectly described as Transexuals (note spelling). Transgenderist is now the correct description used by therapists. Most take female hormones and may obtain facial or breast enhancement surgery but almost never SRS.

SIGNIFICANT OTHER : An individual who is either the girlfriend, boyfriend, wife, husband, or life partner of a transgendered person and who may or may not be supportive of the inner feelings and gender identity of their partner. In cases where the partner of a transgendered individual first finds out about their partners gender issues or wishes to cross dress many can not cope with the issues surrounding their partner. Some choose to leave their partner for good while others find this new aspect of their partner to be a side they can either learn to cope with or actually support. Some even find the new aspects to be desireable in their partner.

Silicone Pumping Party : Illegal practice of pumping Industrial Silicone into the Face, breasts, hips and buttocks of Transwomen by unlicensed persons. This often ends in “death” or “extreme disfigurement”. Not recommended as it is dangerous.

SOFFA : Term means (Significant Other, Friend, Family, or Ally) of a person who identifies as transsexual, transgender, CD or gender varient.

SRS : (Sex Reassignment Surgery) see Gender Reassignment Surgery above.

STANDARDS OF CARE : A set of minimum guidelines originally formulated by the Harry Benjamin International Gender Dysphoria Association, Inc. (HBIGDA) for care of transsexual individuals and providing requirements for consumers and service providers. Other standards also exist under World Professional Association for Trans Health (WPATH).

STEALTH : The act of living in plain site without being seen as transgendered or being read. To blend in.

STRAIGHT : An individual who is emotionally, spiritually, physically, and or sexually attracted primarily to members of the opposite gender. A person who accepts their opposite gender attraction, and whom identifies as straight. Also used to identify a MTF attracted to a Male or a FTM attracted to a Female.

TARGET SEX : The desired sex of a Transsexual or Transgendered person which is opposite of one’s biological sex.

TOP SURGERY : Surgery “above the waist.” Breast Auugmentation for the MTF and Breast Reduction for the FTM. There are many different issues that cause each person to make the decision to either have or not have the surgeries. Some factors include: desire, expense, physical health, age, and access to medical care and information. There are also many difficulties that can occur with these surgeries, which will factor into each individual’s decision making process.

TRANSGENDER : Those who transgress rigid societal gender norms, and who present a breaking or blurring of cultural stereotypical gender roles. This includes: Transsexuals, Cross Dressers, Androgynes, Gender Benders, Shape Shifters, and Intersexxed Individuals. The word describes a category and Community, not the individual groups under it’s umbrella which are very different from each other. Some Intersexed people do not consider themselves Transgender. Others who are changing roles and gender through surgery identity with it.

Transgender Advocate : A person who publicly works for Transgender inclusive rights and the welfare of all gender variant individuals. Seeks to improve our quality of life.

TRANSGENDER COMMUNITY : (Gender Community) A loose association of individuals and organizations who transgress gender norms in a variety of ways. Celebrating a recently born self awareness, this community is growing fast across all lines. The central ethic of this community is unconditional acceptance of individual exercise of freedoms including gender and sexual identity and orientation.

TRANSGENDERIST : Persons who choose to cross-live full time, but who choose not to have Sex Reassignment Surgery/Gender Reassignment Surgery (SRS/GRS). They may or may not have some surgeries, and they may or may not use hormones.

TRANSITION : The period during which a transgender individual (usually transsexual) begins to live a new life in their gender of choice. Also, includes the period of full-time living (Real Life Test) required before gender reassignment surgery.

TRANSMAN : Some FTM’s prefer this newer term. See FTM.

TRANSPHOBIA : (Gender Phobia) The irrational fear of those who are perceived to break and or blur cultural stereotypical gender roles, often assumed to be queer. Expressed as negative feelings, attitudes, actions or behaviors against those perceived as breaking and or blurring cultural stereotypical gender roles.

TRANSSEXUAL : MTF, FTM, Pre-Op, Post-Op, Non-Op. A person that experiences an intense long term discomfort resulting from the feeling of inappropriateness of their assigned gender role at birth and the discomfort of their body, and whom as a result adapts their gender role and body in order to reflect and be congruent with their gender identity. This may include cross-living, synthesized sex hormones, surgery and other body modification which may or may not lead to the feeling of harmony between a person’s body and gender identity.

Transvestite : Outmoded term no longer used by Gender Therapists which used to refer to full time crossdressers. When used today usually meant in a derogatory fashion.

TRANSWOMAN : Some MTF’s prefer this newer term. See MTF.

TUCK(ING) : The act or process of hiding male genitalia by tucking them back between the legs.

TWO-SPIRIT : A term for both same gender loving and transgendered people that emerged from various Native American traditions. The Dineh (Navaho) word is nadleehe one who is transformed, the Lakota (Sioux) as winkte, the Mohave as alyha, the Zuni as lhamana, the Omaha as mexoga, the Aleut and Kodiak as achnucek, the Zapotec as ira’ muxe, the Cheyenne as he man eh.

VAGINOPLASTY : In cases of transgendered individuals this is a surgical method of creatinG of a neo vagina. There are two main methods with use of doner tissue from the penis and the scrotum in both cases. And a third way which is used in only the most extreme cases. The first entails the following generally used method. After first incisions in the genitalia the right spermatic cord is ligated (Bound so as not to bleed) and clamped. The primary incision is continued up the ventral (lower) side of the shaft of the penis. The anterior (top) flap is then developed from the skin of the penis. The urethra is dissected from the shaft. The corpora cavernosa (Two chambers in the penis which run the length of the penis and are filled with spongy tissue which blood flows into filling the open spaces in the spongy tissue to create an erection.) are separated to assure a minimal stump. Next, the anterior (top) flap is perforated to position the urethral meatus. (urethra). The skin flaps are sutured and placed in position in the vaginal cavity. The second method was created by Dr. Suporn Watanyusakul in Chonburi, Thailand and is known as the Chonburi Pouch Method or the Suporn Technique. Dr. Suporn’s method is quite different from the typical sexual reassignment surgery as he does not use the penile inversion method. Instead, he constructs the vaginal vault (canal), with scrotal skin and uses the penile tissues for a labia, clitoris, and other external features. A full thickness inguinal (groin crease) skin graft is used for the vaginal lining in rare cases where inadequate scrotal skin is available. Dr. Suporn’s method generally yields a deeper neovagina than the more standard penile inversion technique. After either method is completed the neo vagina is packed to insure it keeps its shape as the patient begins the healing process. Some individuals swear that Suporns technique is superior, others feel the penial inversion method is. The third style of vaginoplasty is called colovaginoplasty and involves a cutting away and resecting of the cut ends of the sigmoid colon. This leaves a freed section of the sigmoid colon for use in forming a vaginal lining.

ZE : A newer pronoun used by some to refer to a person in place of she or he when talking about an individual whoose gender does not fit into a specific category.

2008, by Monica_Jennifer, @Lauras Playground

2021-02-06 16:04:29

Listening and Speaking Like a Woman

As a woman, always listen while making eye contact which is something men generally don’t do.

Nod often with your head while maintaining the eye contact. Observe how men often do not maintain eye contact OR use an open smile.

Hillary Clinton is a good example when she is listening to another. Her head nods up and down continually! Watch, the next time you see her. She is telling the person they are important, or that she may agree with them to set them at ease.

Practice, by seeing how long you can make eye contact before glancing away. Also, remember to smile in a mirror, a larger smile than you’re comfortable with. Again, men generally do not smile using an open mouth. Remember to, tilt your head. All these tips will help you look more feminine and the man will feel more at ease!

20 March 2013 – Written by Denae Doyle @tglife.com

What Shape Of Breast Form Should I Purchase?

Lets review the many options for shape, size, and quality.

Nothing can enhance a women’s fashion better than a nice shape; and breast, lets face it, are synonomous with feminine. These days there are a lot of choices when trying to choose a pair of breast forms to provide you with the best effect.

So let’s first review the styles:

Push-Ups These are smaller and more oblong to allow for an even “push-up” effect. This style is often used for the lifting of your bust in your bras and swimsuits. These are often adhesive (Nubra and generic versions). Unless you have significant breast tissue of your own, these are not useful for most tgs.

Teardrops These forms add extra fleshy “full-ness” to your underarm area as the “tear” portion of the breast form is meant to be tucked into the band of your bra. This is especially important to Mastectomy patients and many Crossdressers when trying to achieve a very natural look. The tear portion is not really intended to stick out of the top of your bra although many tgs do so.

Triangles This shape is the most desirable when thickness and protrusion are important to your look. This is especially important to smaller framed females and many Crossdressers who demand firmness and protrusion. It’s the most popular for TGs

Raindrops: These are simple half domes without any extra material around the form. They look most like a natural female breast but may not have the projection many tgs want. They are also made by only a few companies.

Style unto itself is not the end-all. Size is just as important; a great style that’s too large or too small will take away from the feminine lines you’re trying to project.

The size of the breast form should generally follow the rest of your measurements. Tgs should resist the impulse to have especially large forms. It’s helpful to remember that the average bra size is a 34B. Now, most tgs do not have a 34 band, but stay with a B or C cup, especially if passing is important to you.

We will talk about bra sizing next. In picking a breast form it’s helpful to follow standard clothing chart sizing (which each store has on their web site), so your clothes will fit better.

It’s helpful to start with the waist and then adjust bust and hip sizes to match the size which coordinates best with your waist. That is, if your waist is 34″, you will fit into size 14 clothes. You should pick breast forms that will yield about a 41-42″ bust (measured around the fullest part of your breast and which is not your bra size). . Hip padding, which we will talk about shortly, should yield about a 42″ around the fullest part.

In terms of quality, there is a wide range available. You can spend anywhere from $15 to $300 per breast form ($30 to $600 — or more — for two). The price is often artificially high for Mastectomy patients since insurance will often be paying for it. However, there is often little difference in quality between a $50 and $150 breast form, especially if it’s for casual use.

What does matter though is the softness and pliability of the form. Some forms are very soft and pliable, while others may be very rigid and unnatural. Sometimes, but not always, less expensive forms may be firmer. PALS is a very inexpensive breast form, under $50.00 a pair, and you can purchase more then one size! And, they will not rip or tear!

What about self-adhesive forms, for that braless look?

Most breast form vendors offer at least one model that can be worn without a bra. Some involve an adhesive support that attaches to the chest wall and then hooks to the form via Velcro. This works well but the patches are expensive and can only be used once. Make sure the chest hairs are gone before attaching the patch or they will come off afterwards – with a lot more pain!!).

Increasingly, forms are appearing that do not require a patch but have the adhesive on the form itself. It may be reused some number of times. Originally only the breast enhancers (Nubra) used this technique but now most manufacturers offer it for their regular forms. It requires a clean skin surface and diligence about cleaning the form afterwards. It also works only for moderate sized forms. One must be careful about wearing them for too long or with too much activity or they can come loose!!

TIP – its often helpful to apply some baby power between the form and the your skin (if not using adhesive forms) to counter the moisture that develops. Unlike natural breast, the form does not breath and so there will be a tendency for moisture to occur. This can be uncomfortable and the baby power helps eliminate it. It also has a nice feminine scent!

I recommend the Breast Form Stores, for any new girl. They provide personal care by telephone, if you’re not sure what size or shape to purchase!

06 February 2013 – Written by Denae Doyle @tglife.com

2013-02-06 04:08:00

Transgender Youth at Risk

No one wants to go to the doctor, right? Studies indicate that young people especially do not seek health care unless they are sick or in crisis. Of course, these studies usually describe only a certain segment of young people – namely those with homes, with families, in school, and not gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender (GLBT) identified. Strangely, these are the youth most likely to be healthy and not engage in risky behaviors in the first place.

Recent studies of New York City’s homeless youth, unsurprisingly, show many pressing health care needs. Because of the exposure they endure on the street, these youth are particularly susceptible to many negative health conditions. Violence, rape, sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), tuberculosis (TB), HIV/AIDS, poor nutrition, poor hygiene, chemical dependency and a host of other health-related issues that are the result of surviving on the street are not uncommon. However, one study also showed that when youth on the street have a respectful, trusting and meaningful relationship with an outreach worker they are more likely to seek health care services – both acute services (like STD treatment) and preventive services (like immunizations). Also, when connected to a respectful outreach worker or team offering referrals, they are apt to seek social and psychosocial services from youth-serving agencies. They are even more likely to access care when those health and social services are appropriate to their needs, respectful, and accessible on all levels (no cost, easily reachable location, culturally competent staff).

Many youth expressing non-gender conforming behavior or identifying as transgender find themselves rejected by family, school, church, peers and other communities of origin. They often become homeless and unemployable, and are forced into the street economy – very often into sex work. Compared to their gay, lesbian and bisexual (GLB) peers, transgender youth are often far more marginalized and disenfranchised, often finding themselves unwelcome even at GLB youth-serving agencies. ‘Traditional’ housing alternatives, drug treatment programs, health centers and other services are ill-prepared to work with transgender youth in any kind of affirming, supportive manner. The educational system, while slowly moving towards a more GLB friendly environment is still transgender-ignorant and -phobic. These places for youth refuse to deal with young people who do not fit their ‘norms.’ Youth who present these challenges are often just left out.

Transgender Youth Health Risks

The list of negative influences could go on, and unfortunately the result is the same: transgender youth become further at-risk. Those on the street are often faced with double and triple stigmas that can directly and negatively impact their health. For instance, transgender youth taking hormones are often doing so without the supervision of a licensed medical provider. They may be using bootleg substances, may be over self medicating, and may be incorrectly injecting or sharing needles to administer their hormones.

Few medical providers are adequately trained in the proper hormonal treatment of transgender people, and those that are, rarely provide care to minors without parental consent. Since parental consent is not the norm, especially for those who are homeless or otherwise detached from their families, many young people legitimately requiring hormonal therapy go without until they reach the age of majority. They also encounter disreputable providers with a ‘street reputation’ who are willing to sell hormones to anyone with the resources to afford them, but who dangerously and unethically do not provide the comprehensive follow-up that is critical to successful therapy. Hormone therapy, with either female or male hormones is not without risks and needs to be regularly monitored for negative side effects that can be life threatening. The risk-taking behaviors in which homeless transgender youth engage to get the money to pay for their illicit hormones also places their health in jeopardy. The economics of sex work puts youth at risk for HIV/AIDS and STD’s, exploitation and violence, and chemical dependency. ‘Johns’ and ‘dates’ usually pay more money or provide more drugs if condoms are not used. Youth also use crack or other illegal substances to ‘numb the pain’ of their lives and make the sex work tolerable, impairing their judgment and lowering their resistance.

Supportive Health Services

Managing the health care of a transgender youth is a complicated matter. A patient-provider relationship requires several critical components for maximum positive effect: an ongoing and trusting relationship between the youth and the provider; a commitment by the provider to addressing the stigmas, disenfranchisement, and added challenges faced by transgender youth; and a personal commitment by the young person to their overall health and well-being. Since many of us are not the best health care consumers, empowering youth to accept this personal commitment may be the most critical component.

Transgender youth and their providers must realize the holistic health needs other than just those surrounding gender identity. Gender transitioning is never a simple matter of merely taking hormones. Optimally, it includes primary health care, psychosocial support, mental health services, peer support and education. For those on the street, case management (including entitlements and benefits advocacy), supportive housing services, harm reduction and drug treatment services, HIV/AIDS care, and employment and educational opportunities are required as well. We also must not overlook the necessity of educating transgender youth and all youth to make healthy choices. This is done through comprehensive health and sexuality education on issues including proper diet and nutrition, pregnancy prevention, HIV prevention, self breast or testicular examinations, and vaccinations.

For Community Health Project’s Transgender Health and Education (THE) Clinic, the combination of mental health and peer support services appears to be the single best predictor of successful transition. Social isolation can be a devastating factor in the lives of all GLB and transgender youth. When transgender youth find peer support, role modeling and mentorship from peer counselors, the results are positive and life-affirming.

Economic Barriers to Services

Of course, the health care described above is not inexpensive. Few transgender youth are medically insured, privately or publicly. Coverage for hormone treatment, even for those with insurance, is not always immediate. In the age of managed care, few health centers or private physicians are prepared or able to provide the intensive medical and case management services needed to appropriately care for transgender youth. The economic realities of this situation strongly contribute to transgender youth engaging in sex work and being exposed to the potentially negative health outcomes resulting from it. There is no simple answer. The economic, ethical, racial, class and access issues involved are complicated. Even health care systems designed for the underserved are not often designed to be able to meet the specific needs of transgender individuals. Those that are, are also faced with the medical ethics issues surrounding hormonal therapy for minors. Those that have surmounted the ethical issues and are willing to treat transgender youth are often themselves small and underfunded.

A systematic shift must begin at the community-based level, with youth workers and the transgender youth they serve. Youth-serving agencies working with transgender youth must give their clients tools to become empowered as educated health care consumers. Agencies must provide materials designed by and for transgender youth to reach them and attractive, supportive environments in which to learn. Youth-serving agencies must adopt non-judgmental harm reduction models of care to support transgender youth in their struggle to balance making their transitions while staying healthy. Agencies must meet youth where they are at, even while they are surviving in an economic and social system designed to keep them on the streets, engaging in sex work, and receiving services from disreputable providers. Education must include not only safer sex, but safer sex work, safer needle use and access to needle exchange programs, development of peer and other support systems, and instruction on how to talk to a medical provider.

An effective health education component for transgender youth must include specific information about the health risks associated with cross gender hormone therapy, so that young people can make informed choices about their lives. See inset.

Furthermore, youth-serving agencies must aggressively advocate for funding for this medically and socially underserved group of young people in today’s climate of shrinking funding and services, and social stigmatizing and scapegoating. For instance, the 12 or so GLB health centers around the country need to examine their own motives, missions, ethics and purposes, and be encouraged to include both GLB and transgender youth care in the array of services they offer.

It is ironic that while the medical profession has advanced to the point of being able to effectively and appropriately treat transgender individuals, there is an internalized system-wide phobia that prohibits it from embracing the challenge. On the brighter side, there are a few pioneering health care programs that have begun addressing the needs of transgender individuals, and are leading the way for these services to become more mainstream in both GLBT and traditional health care settings. Unfortunately, in the meanwhile, the health and well-being of transgender youth hangs in jeopardy.

Possible side effects for males taking female hormones (Estrogen or Progesterone) may include: blood clots; abnormal lipids (elevated cholesterol and triglycerides); increased risk of heart attack and stroke; breast tumors/cancer; increased prolactin/pituitary tumors; high blood pressure; prostate enlargement/tumor; elevated liver enzymes’ hepatitis; acne; irreversible body changes/breast growth; worsening of psychiatric conditions when starting and stopping treatment; depression; suicide; and/or increased incidence of unexplained death.

Possible side effects for females taking male hormones (Testosterone) may include: bleeding due to a decrease of blood clotting factors; blood cell abnormalities; elevated cholesterol and triglycerides; increased risk of heart attack and stroke; increased prolactin/pituitary tumors; hypertension; no menstrual periods or other menstrual irregularities; elevated liver enzymes/hepatitis/jaundice; high calcium; retention of water, sodium, chloride, potassium and inorganic phosphates; acne; irreversible body changes including deepening of the voice, hair growth and clitoral enlargement; worsening of psychiatric conditions when starting or stopping treatment; depression/anxiety/excitation; suicide; and/or increased incidence of unexplained death.

Richard Haynes is the Associate Executive Director of the Community Health Project (CHP) in New York City. CHP provides free, confidential medical care and health services, including HIV-related, to GLBT, homeless, runaway and throwaway youth on-site and via Health Outreach To Teens (HOTT) mobile medical van. Contact: CHP, 208 West 13th Street, 2nd Floor, New York, NY 10011, 212-675-3559.

By Richard Haynes

1999, amboyz.org

What is FTM?

The border between intersex (hermaphrodites) and transsexuals is very fluent. In fact it can be argued that both are two sides of the same phenomena: during the early devellopment of the fetus the body develloped in a nonstandard way, making it difficult for third persons to guess the gender of the baby after birth.

In the FTM case a child has mistakenly (if the psychological identity is used as defining standart) been labeled and assigned as female at birth.

During childhood, adolescence but usually only as an adult the FTM corrects this mistake and lives as a man.

This can be a disruptive process as parents, friends, employers are often relucutant to aceept that their perception of this person was incorrect. Usually after some time most people do adapt, also because it is easier to relate to a FTM as a man.

Hormones, surgery or a legal court order are usually nessesary to achive a complete recognition by society. Many countries, smore health organisations unfortunately still discriminate against FTMs, and intersex and transgendered people in general.

Many FTMs have started to explore ways which lead to a recognition without surgery, especially FTMs who pass as boys or young men without any medical intervention. Others have explored bi-gendered ways, bluring the border between the gay/lesbian and transgender population.

The abreviation FTM is derived from the medical term female to male (transgender, transsexual, etc.). As most FTMs have no serious medical disorders related to their condition, FTM and intersex people who match this statement should however rather seen as a part of the rich heritage of human diversity, which has produced differnt races, bodyshapes, and on a higher level ethinically diverse cultures.

Transformations of the Foremost Noblewoman

The society of Ancient Egypt was powered by magic. Typically African in form, its primeval technique, and its contemporary practitioners, were firmly believed in by members of all classes. And magic can create transformation.

The sexual power of the monarch lay at the roots of the state’s or the sovereign’s existence, in New Kingdom Egypt as much as in any Nguni realm in the 19th century. When in residence at Waset, the capital, the pharaoh performed regular rituals in the Shrine of Amun-Re at Ipet Esut — the most select of places, which had strong sexual content.

The leading state magicians, men and women, conducted and participated in these ceremonies, which were held to be vitally necessary to the very life of the state and people. As above, so below.

The lowest stratum of agricultural labourers and poor housewives harboured their personal altars and the conviction that with the favour of the Gods and Goddesses, and the demons and spirits they controlled, their lives might be transformed.

Thus it was, through the medium of magic that the highest met the lowest in the magnificent floruit of opulence and civilisation that we call the Egyptian New Kingdom. The sovereign met the peasant, mutual submission occurred, and a tremendous effect was created. The Queen, Hatshepsut, foremost of Noble women, met Senenmut, greatest of magicians, to exchange identities and genders.

There had been queens regnant in the pa Mertneith, and Nitokert had attempted to extend their regencies into real reigns long before Hatshepsut, but their hold on affairs had been ephemeral.The pharaoh had to be a man. Certain ceremonies had to be performed that bear resemblance to those described in hushed tones by colonial investigators of Mau Mau.

So the king had to be male, and that was all there was to it. And Hatshepsut, who by the death of her husband the pharaoh, found herself in a political vacuum. High-born and used to command, she declined to see Egypt factionalised during the infancy of the male heir Tuthmosis, and took the throne. She had a plan.

She, like all Egypt, knew of the famous sorcerer Senenmut, risen from the poorest of poor families to become the most courted and feared individual in the country. Learned in every art, master of ritual ,his sharp features bore the marks of the austerities by which he had earned the keys of magic. Very early in her sole reign they were in contact, and soon it was rumoured that they were lovers. The truth is less mundane.

The queen’s great problem was legitimacy, not in practical terms — for she had strong army support –, but in magical and traditional aspects. Over monthshatshepsut of consultations with the wizard, a scheme was formed wherein Hatshepsut would appear before her father Amun, and her beloved people, in person as a man.That every part of traditional Pharaonic practice would be undertaken in the real bodily existence of Maa’ka’Re, the astral body of Re’s truth. By the magic devised by Senenmut, Hatshepsut would become Maa’ka’Re at will.

Magic needs that help of every practical aid, and such a feat as this required patient and costly preparation. For the first time known to us, a flesh suit made of byssus linen and silk thread was woven to compress the queen’s torso. It’s barely visible neckline was faithfully traced by the court sculptors on every representation of Maa’ka’Re that we have. Egyptians wore very little clothing,but elaborate headwear and jewellery, so such a technical marvel was necessary.

The male-specific kilt, false beard, lion’s tail, and headdresses presented little difficulty in comparison.

The Queen must have worn artifical male genitalia.This has never been directly suggested, but a moment’s thought will demonstrate it’s truth.The pharaoh had to demonstrate his potency in the sanctum of Amun-Re, whose image was ithyphallic.That is to say, Amun of Thebes has an erection, and the monarch must also display one in his identification with the supreme deity.

To this end, encouragement was sometimes offered by the chantresses of the God, who were all pretty women, and who participated in the service.The fragmentary representations of these rituals are extant, scattered around the immense Karnak ruin-field in modern Luxor.

The Egyptians were not content with forms of words, there had to be actualities, or the people high and low would not believe.This is another link with modern Africa.

Hatshepsut the kingThere had also to be a temple of transformation, wherein the queen would transform into the king before proceeding to Karnak, and where Maa’ka’Re might transform back again into Hatshepsut. To this end Senenmut designed and built Djeser-Djeseru, the Holiest of Holies, wherein to work the divine mystery of gender transmutation.The aid of the goddess of sex being obviously vital in this matter, the temple was built against, and partially inside, Hathor’s sacred mountain, on an axis directly aligned to the sanctum sanctorum at Karnak, from which it was plainly visible.

It is my contention that when Hatshepsut became a man, Senenmut became a woman. His very name is suggestive, for those with ears to hear. Sn is a causative particle, n is a copula, and Mut is the primordial mother in the Theban triad. So the magician used the formula of his own name, and became both the universal mother, and the mother of himself.

His block statues, unique in Egyptian art, with the head of the girl child Nefrure projecting from his lap are an epitome of man as mother, the girl being the magical child of Senemut and Hatshepsut the queen, or was the conception between Maa’ka’Re and Senmutet?

Whatever the exact mechanics, the overall project was a complete success. Maa’ka’Re was accepted as Pharaoh of Egypt and was crowned as such, the first woman ever to assume the supreme power in prescribed form. Not that she would have thought of herself, at the moment of her coronation, as a woman at all. By the arts of Egyptian magic she was a man, a king, in reality.

The people applauded, feasted, and were not shocked. Every Egyptian knew that sorcerers could assume the forms of birds and animals, and could possess other persons bodies and identities, so what could the greatest magician of Egypt, and the most powerful political figure,not achieve?

The Pharaoh soon became the richest individual in the known world, by an adroit combination of massive trading voyages to Africa, the valleys of incense, the terraces of turquoise, and the complete avoidance of unnecessary and costly warfare. She kept up her army, though, using it as a border guard, a police force, and a covering force for her business activities.

The country at large, buoyed by lavish state funds, knew boundless prosperity ,good Niles, no plagues, and regular festivities. So all was well-for a while.

Of Senenmut’s fall, Maa’ka’Re’/Hatshepsut’s decline into obesity, the gradual rise of faction around the young prince Thutmosis, I shall not here speak. I simply present the grand entrance of transgenderism on to the world’s stage in all it’s ancient glory.

08 February 2015, Written by Michelle Quartermain @tglife.com

Is Sex Conversion Therapy Ever Ethical?

Sex conversion therapy, or reparative therapy as it is also known, has been a source of ire and controversy in the LGBT community for years.

Everyone has days where there are things that they wish they could change about themselves. Certainly it comes as no surprise that there are people that would like to profit from offering the opportunity to LGBT folks to stop having homosexual thoughts. In a world where therapy has become a cornerstone of our lives from our pre-school years on it was inevitable that there would be therapists that provide counseling to eliminate homosexual thoughts. But sex conversion therapy is no small matter… it is not just a field comprised of a few greedy therapists armed with self-help books and gimmicky promises. In the 90’s when sex conversion therapy first gained notoriety it was mainly through Christian counselors. The Christian organizations behind these counselors would often rely on help from the secular group National Association for Research & Therapy of Homosexuality (NARTH) to support their actions. The justification for their work was easy at the time because the World Health Organization still considered homosexuality a mental disorder. A large part of their efforts were geared towards converting self-identified gay or bisexual teenagers to heterosexuality through the use of electro-shock therapy and other unpleasant stimuli paired with homoerotic images.

Laws that ban conversion therapy have been added to state legislature now in California, New Jersey, New York, and Massachusetts.

Accounts from LGBT individuals that received sex conversion therapy as minors frequently blame the therapy for worsening their anxiety and self-hatred. Clearly some of the methods that sex conversion therapy uses are out of the dark ages of psychology, but is it fair to sex that all counseling like this should be outlawed even if it is practiced only by licensed therapists? The therapy is defined as being meant to help with unwanted homosexual thoughts, so maybe it is unfair to immediately dismiss the therapy as unethical. But the mere question of whether or not conversion therapy is ethical implies that some LGB individuals aren’t really homosexual. The World Health Organization no longer considers homosexuality a mental disorder, so it hardly makes sense that there are people that would still like to treat it as one. If the LGB individual were having too many homosexual thoughts–well that is another problem entirely and not one that most LGB people have any need to address in therapy.

The other problem here is that the majority of sex conversion therapy is directed at minors.

When a teenager isn’t sure what kind of person he or she is in an intimate sense, that’s normal. Trying to suppress changes in sexuality and self-perspective in teenagers should never go beyond the normal do’s and don’ts of that age category. If you aren’t convinced that sex conversion therapy is too extreme then maybe it helps to imagine what you would think of a parent that sought electro-shock therapy to for their 16 year old daughter for ideating about inviting her school’s field hockey team over for a wild night. Sometimes teenagers have thoughts that are a little beyond them, and sometimes parents have difficulty accepting the people their teenagers are becoming, but shock therapy is rather severe. It just doesn’t sound like something that fits with our ideals as a culture.

Dr. M. Mirza, LGBT Health Wellness – 2014

Transgender woman murdered

Tyler’s friends believe she was a victim of a hate crime.

“This has to be a hate crime, this has to be a hate crime, nothing else because that was an upstanding person with a good heart,” Underwood’s roommate, Coy Simmons told KYTX.

“She was lovely, just a lovely person.”

Tyler’s friends say she was well-liked and had no enemies. “She’s a fan favourite,” Kenya Darks told local news station, KLTV.

Police suggested that Tyler was shot before trying to flee from her attacker in her car. Police are still searching for a suspect. and have appealed to the public to come forward if they have any information.

A Transvestite Encounter in Post-Roman Gaul

One day in the summer of the year 590, the experienced and wry divine Gregory — Metropolitan bishop of Tours in the barbarian kingdom of Frankish Neustria — sat to hear a sensational case. With his fellow bishops, Gregory was to judge upon a scandal during the year of the revolt of the nuns in Poitiers against their abbess. This was in reality part of the vicious feminine war festering within the Frankish royal house.

Royal women were not normally subject to the lynch law prevailing outside the walls of their protected establishments, and could not by custom be routinely killed by their male relatives. Women beware was the rule in the palaces and high-status religious houses. This is the era of Queen Fredegund, spymistress, controller of assassins and, murderess.

The extraordinary position of top-ranking Frankish women, and the savage energy of the times, bathes the calm testimony of the political churchman in the atmosphere of the Nibelunglied.

Rome has fallen and deranged warlords feast amid the ruins, drunk and dangerous. Nominally Christian, they are addicted to war, vendetta, and extortion on a massive scale.

Partially controlling these sacred monsters is a pack of the old Roman aristocracy dressed up as men of God, and protected by the magic powers of which they have convinced the magnates. All public services, apart from those controlled by the church, have perished with the Empire; the population at large is prey to every kind of violence and misfortune.

An obsessive faith in a better life hereafter, and raging superstitions are understandable reactions to this post-apocalyptic world, crisscrossed by plundering hordes.

Gregory is as credulous as his flock, sharp observer though he is. Miracles are as common as plagues, signs and wonder a daily occurrence. Without these visible evidences of divine mercy, life is unendurable. Worshipping God and pleasing him was paramount: a primary objective of the churchmen and theoretically of the ignorant barbarian sovereigns they served and manipulated.

The kings thought that promotion of Christianity brought them success in battle and at the council table; the bishops thought it the only guarantee of a very fragile existence. This makes what occurred in the cathedral of Poitiers that summer day so extraordinary. One rubs one’s eyes to read Gregory’s account.

After dealing with a siege situation at the Poitiers Nunnery, and putting down the revolt with a little bloodshed here and there, the bishops assemble. Gregory says:’Tunc resedentes sacerdotes……..”

Then were present the priests sitting down again on the tribunal of the church…..

“Adfuit Chrodieldis..”

Was present Clotild,

“Multa in abbatissa iactans convitia cum criminibus…”

Hurling many accusations of crime against the abbess…”

“Adserens,eam virum habere in monasterium…..”

Asserting she had a man in the nunnery….

“Qui indutus vestimenta muliebria pro femina haberetur…”

Who was dressed in female clothing so one would take him to be a woman….

“Cum esset vir manifestissime declaratus”

Though he was most manifestly clearly a man.

“Atque ipsi abbatissa famularetur assiduae..”

And that the abbess regularly had sex with him

This is clearly not in the normal run of canon law cases. A princess of the blood, ostensibly a religious, is appearing in person to accuse her superior, also a princess, of extreme sexual irregularity. With bells on. But then…….sensation! Clotild continues:

“Indicans eum digito,”En ipsum”

“There he is!” — pointing him out with her finger

Now whatever mental picture one has of people and events in the heroic age, I am sure that it does not include the moments following this dramatic pronouncement. If it were not for the fact that this is the testimony of an eyewitness, one would discount it as an invention.

From the dais Gregory beholds something rather out of the ordinary for 6th century Gaul:

“Qui cum in veste,ut diximus,muliebri,coram omnibus adstetisset..”

Whereupon a man in women’s clothing, as we have said, stood forward in the sight of everyone

“Dixit,se nihil opus posse virile agere, ideoque sibi hoc indumentum mutasse”.

Who said, that he was in no way able to operate as a man, and so transformed himself by dressing.

One wonders what the reaction was. The general impression given by Gregory’s account may be summed up in the only possible cliché – stunned silence. Succeeded by anticlimax:

“Abbatissam vero nonnisi tantum nomine nossit..”.

He stated that he knew nothing of the Abbess but her name…”

“Seque eam nunquam vidisse ..”

And he had never seen her..

“Neque cum eadem colloquium habuisse, professus est”.

Nor with the same had had any conversation,

If this was an intended coup de theatre by Clotild, she has obviously failed miserably, or her co-conspirator has been made an offer that he/she cannot refuse.

Our transgender person concludes:

“Praesertim cum hic amplius quam quadraginta ab urbe Pectava milibus degeret”

As well as this he lived more than forty miles from Poitiers

There is clearly something gravely wrong with all this. One thing is indisputable: there is at least one full-time MtoF transgender person living unmolested in the Barbarian West. One gets a whiff of country cottages and a decent kitchen garden, with a mustachioed husband in the background. Somewhere off the beaten track for armies; somewhere quiet.

And yet this person is known. Clotild knows her, she pointed him out, and Clotild is the daughter of the late great (if psychotic) king Charibert. Has Clotild had him/her transported, as if by evil fairies, those forty impossible miles to the cathedral of Poitiers?. And if so, why has her leading actress fluffed her lines? If Clotild’s royal antagonists are responsible for this apparition, how does any of Gregory’s carefully self-censored narrative work?

The saintly bishop of Tours had no desire to linger on the sordid details of this distressing case, and still less did he wish to enlarge upon what might lie behind the bizarre transvestite moment in the cathedral of Poitiers. Blandly he informs us that as a result of the transgender testimony, it was obviously out of the question to convict the pious abbess of criminal conversation. We should, therefore, all move on, and there’s nothing to see around here, folks.

Clotild, however, was not finished yet:

“Quae enim sanctitas in hac abbatissa versatur….”

For what holiness is poured out on this abbess..”

Quae viros eunuchus facit,et secum habitare imperiale ordini praecipit..”

Who has men made eunuchs, and has them around her after the manner of the imperial court.

More dirty washing from St Radegund’s Nunnery and for a while things look a bit dodgy for the noble abbess Leubovera.

“Imterrogata abbatissa,se de hac ratione nihil scire respondit…”

The abbess being questioned, she replied that she knew absolutely nothing about it..”

“Interea,cum haec nomen pueri eunuchi protulisset…”

Meanwhile, the name of the eunuch serving-boy was produced…

And then, a deus ,or rather medicus, ex machina appears:

“Adfuit Reovalis archiater…”

The leading doctor Reovalis presented himself..

Where did HE come from? The learned surgeon explains:

“Dicens,puer iste,parvolus cum esset et infirmaretur in femore..”

Saying, this boy being very young was having pains in the loins..”

Disperatus coepit habere, mater quoque eius sanctam Ragegundam adivit..”

Having been given up as hopeless, his mother also went to Saint Radegund herself.

“Ut ei aliquod studium iubiret inpendi..”

To see if she could have this case looked into somehow.

Saint Radegund knows just the man for the job:

At illa,me vocato,iussit,si possim,aliquid iuvarem..”

And she, having summoned me, commanded me, if I could, to do something to help.

Doctor Reovalis is not afraid to take drastic measures:

“Tunc ego,sicut quondam apud urbem Constantinopolitam medicos agere conspexeram..”

Then I, having once upon a time observed what the doctors did at Constantinople…

“Incisis testicolis..”

Cut off his bollocks

One imagines some uncomfortable shifting about on the tribunal. But all is well:

“Puerum sanum genetrici maestae restitui..”

I restored the boy to his mother improved in health…

“Nam nihil de hac causa abbatissa scire cognovi..”

And I know for a fact that the present abbess knew nothing about this thing.

So that’s alright then. Clotild has alleged the presence of a transvestite, and one is there present in the cathedral. She also claims that there are eunuchs about, and one is also found in the cathedral. But it is all perfectly alright, because there is a simple and innocent explanation for all this stuff. The tranny says he is impotent, and the castrated boy’s mum is happy, so what is the problem? Well, everything really.

This is Merovingian Gaul, not New York in the 1970’s. What is a full-time crossdresser doing in the Dark Ages? Are we supposed to believe that there is a castration expert just hanging about in 6th century Poitiers?

A genius to boot, as the learned doctor claims to have performed this tricky bit of work with no training, but simply as a result of having sat in on an operation way back in the day.

No doubt doctor Reovalis was a brilliant wound surgeon. Lord knows there was ample scope for his talents in the Frankish kingdoms. But it is quite evident that he has performed castrations before, and that he was trained to do so at the East Roman court.

These people stand before us for a few brief moments, caught in the light that a great historian unwittingly throws upon his times. The full court judgment quoted by Gregory makes absolutely no mention of transvestism or of castrated boys, or of any but the most anodyne accusations against the saintly abbess Leubovera. As a writer however, he could not resist the drama of the occasion, and we hear the very words of the protagonists.

The nasty business at St Radegund’s nunnery, which had involved gang warfare, numerous homicides, and an unfortunate outbreak of pregnancy among the unguarded nuns, was smoothed over. The Frankish sovereigns had for once united to draw a veil over this most unedifying spectacle, and the pious judges knew very well what the outcome was to be before the enquiry began.

Nobody important was punished for anything. Clotild and her unwilling accomplice princess Basina were giving a few days penance and told not to cause trouble again.

And the man who dressed as a woman, what happened to him/her? Did she perhaps have a quiet word with the gifted doctor?. Two of the unlikeliest figures of the age fade away, revealed by accident, and lost in time.

Written by: Michelle Quartermain

tglife.com – 2014

Standing Feminine in 9 Easy Steps

I am most often asked by those who have studied my Vol 1 DVD—to please explain again– how to stand and sit in an S-Curve. Review Vol 1 but herewith a short review. Most men stand linear, and they generally do not use much hand movement (except shaking hands, waving or crossing their arms) so we want to break out of the linear by using what I created called the S-Curve to look casual, sensual, sexy, or really sensual.

Lets begin with how to STAND in a feminine sensual way.

Day 1 Study yourself while in guy mode when you can see your reflection in a mirror or large window. You will probably be like most men, which is prettyinpinkstanding with both feet flat on the ground and your hands down to your side (and often not swinging them while walking or swinging from the shoulders). This creates the straight l shape.

Day 2 Begin to take the weight off one of your feet, you can do this while in guy mode….the magic comes when your makeup is done and dressed. In the beginning this will be difficult to remember, so don’t beat yourself up, just make the correction. Again, you can do this while in guy mode as it will not “look feminine”. until your dressed. This is the foundation for your footwork when creating the Sensual S curve. Place one foot forward slightly while the other foot stays in the back – and be certain no weight it on the FRONT FOOT, EVER. Next, you will only begin walking on your front foot, which does NOT have any weight on it. I tell my clients to repeat FFF. Free Front Foot.

Day 3 Please break these up into days, as I do not want you to go on to the next step until you have the previous day down; otherwise everything will fall apart – as much as you would like to tell yourself “Oh, I will remember to do that, its easy”. Wrong. I have seen this in my 12 years of my private coaching for TG women, habit will be hard to break. However, once you feel the difference, you will be on your way to your first curve. Most men will step off on their BACK foot, (again men generally stand with their weight on both feet).

Day 4 After learning to place one foot slightly forward with the back foot solid on the ground – Lift the heel off the ground of the FFF. In the beginning think of it, like a clock. Your back base foot will be at 11:00 while your front, feminine foot will be at 1:00 or a slight 2:00. You can also learn by placing the heel of your front foot into the arch of your base, back foot. Later, we will open this slightly.

Day 5 After lifting the heel up (which a man would never do) slightly tilt your FFF knee inward. BAM you have a major curve, which is the foundation of your S Curve. Try this with no shoes on, then in a heel. Practice this way of standing (it is called a hesitation in modeling) in the shoes with the heel height you most often wear when you’re out dressed. Get ready, lets create another curve.

Day 6 Always, always begin to walk with your front free feminine foot. Why? Try stepping off with the back foot which has the weight on it. You will be stuck in cement, it never moves. It is your base foot which holds you up really well, in heels when standing. Try it. When stepping off on your base back foot did you feel how your entire body came forward, showing larger shoulders, arms and hands? This will be a difficult habit to break…..at first.

Day 7 Now, back to standing. You have your heel up and knee in which closes up any OPEN SPACE. You do not want any open space between your knees and your feet. Once you’re standing with your feet in your hesitation, with your heel up and sexy knee pointed inward, I want you to lift up your diaphram and roll your shoulders up, back, and down which will bring attention to your breast! Now, twist at the waist. You have another curve.

When your shoulders go DOWN, they will not look as large, however your breast will — Remember roll them up, back, and down…feel your breast come forward and making your shorter.

Day 8 Next your shoulders. Tilt your shoulders one direction or the other, while you’re in your hesitation. You now have your next curve! You can use either shoulder, so practice tilting your left shoulder forward and then your right shoulder. You will need a mirror to see this. Remember to keep the heel up and the knee in, up at the waist, shoulders up, back and down and one shoulder pointed to the side. This is a really great tilt for photo taking, as only one shoulder will show and your breasts will look larger, oh yes and your stomach will be lifted! Remember the hesitation or this all falls apart later when we begin stairs, cars. Now, try tilting your head to the opposite side, than the shoulder you use. This is another curve. Not so hard, right?There is no right or wrong, just don’t stand in your guy stance.

Day 9 If you want to feel “more casual” take your FFF and slide it over and open away from the base foot below the same shoulder. This is called an “open hesitation” You simply slide your FFF over onto your big toe, bend that knee in a little more. This is great when you’re wearing jeans for a casual stance. Your closed hesitation is more for a sophisticated look. And, I use it as a way of teachhing everything we do, we start with a closed hesitation.

Summary: You will find one foot more comfortable than the other– for your front foot and the other for your base foot. Your base foot needs to be your stronger foot, as it holds you up. As in Karate…they stand with one foot forward, right? Why? Balance. By placing your FFF forward you can use it to support yourself or to “prop” yourself up. This is very important for girls who are just learning to stand and walk in heels.Plus is gives you a much more feminine appearance than standing with your feet apart with weight on both feet, right?

20 July 2014 – Written by Denae Doyle @tglife.com

2014-07-20 03:43:00

The Perfect Handbag

The prefect handbag for a transgender woman can be mystifying. How do you know which will be best?

I was asked today during a consult, about which style of handbag to use.

Since most TG women are about 5′ 8′ up, you do want to consider the handbag which is best for a tall to very tall woman. Avoid long skinny-style bags with long straps.

Counterbalance your figure with something broad, slouchy or unstructured such as a HoBo type. Often, I see clients with small bags, and I feel it makes her look taller!

I would purchase a medium size bag.

When buying a purse, look in the stores mirror to see how each purse size and shape looks on your figure type!

It is best to get a purse which matches your shoe or boot color. With Winter here, think of the black purse, black boots, and a long dark coat, and put a scarf with lots of color wrapped around your neck. If you can wear a hat, I always put on a Winter cap, as it is very girlish!

Handbag Tips

It is always better to purchase a purse which zips closed so nothing can be taken out of your purse (or fall out). Another tip is when shopping, use the baby strap in the “cart” to secure your bag, allowing you to walk away from the basket for a moment.

Black is probably your best color. I have several colors in my closet, and my “Go To” seems to be my medium to large black zip with a bottom which has “support brackets on the bottom. This holds your purse up off the floor and it does not pick up dirt or sticky items on the floor.

If I know I will be walking most of the day or visiting someone’s house (not in a store), I carry my black Hobo, which has no bottom brackets. So I hang it on the arm of my chair.

09 January 2013 – Written by Denae Doyle @tglife.com

2013-01-09 05:34:00

Makeup School

It doesn’t matter how old you are, we should keep learning something new every day. I enjoy going to seminars and learning new things in my job and at play.

Over the years I have established relationships with various cosmetic providers and have learned so much along the way. I try not to promote one over the other because all have strengths in what they offer. I buy products from 4 different brands. Each offer that one thing(s) that I have found works best for me. Some have great eye shadow colors (seasonal must have colors), Foundation that works with my skin type, texture (sealers), Natural looks, problem areas (concealer) and we can’t forget skin care products(moisturizers, deep line correction serums). Our favorites may change over time as better products become available in particular anti-aging serums, and skin repair regiments.

I was invited to attend a seminar with Trish McEvoy cosmetics. I would never pass up the idea of a cofounder offering lessons in my newest favorite products. This wasn’t just a makeover with some marketing hype it was more than that.

This was a Master class. It is taught once a year for models and woman with gorgeous skin in New York, LA and all over the country. Can you imagine what was going through my head at the thought?

To add to the excitement, “please come with little or no makeup”. I don’t know about you but for me that would be hard. I applied aTriangle_of_Light little foundation, lip color and a neutral eye shadow and that was it. I have to admit you have to rely on some self-confidence here recognizing others would be the same.

When we arrived I felt like I was completely exposed. Fortunately I had only a few encounters with other people before meeting our representative. Immediately after meeting Emily We were put at ease joining some 24 woman in a similar way. My fantasy faded when I gazed around to find mostly middle aged woman and older all seeking to improve their look. It was a fun crowd and I felt at ease as just one of the ladies. We were taken to an area of Saks Fifth Avenue which was set aside for the event, beverages, fruit, pastries were plenty.

For the next three hours I was brought into the world of professional makeup. Facial preparation begins with clean skin. We started by removing all makeup and exfoliation. Next nourish the skin with Serums, moisturizers, and primers.

I was happy to hear why it is important to take the time with proper skin preparation. Healthy nourished, and moisturized skin form the base to build. Primers seal the moisture in while allowing the makeup something to adhere to. The best part is lesser product is needed and it results in a more even covering and a natural look.

With my skin prepped, it was time to watch, listen and learn. The first thing I realized is I didn’t know the tools as much as I thought and they would be so many. The tools of course are the brushes, the eye brushes, Cheek brushes, Foundation brushes and Face brushes all have a purpose and in many cases there can be up to thirteen brushes just for the eyes! Wow, how do you know which one to use…by playing and feel. Don’t get me wrong I have a wonderful set of Sable hair brushes, but only a couple of each type.

This is what you don’t get with a makeover. We had one artist for two girls, the artist would do a little on one side and the student would do the other.

Always starting with the eyes and working your way down. We were shown how to lighten and brighten the eyes with eye base and how to blend for a natural look. We were shown how to highlight or work with our facial features and differing skin tones, very cool!

We were introduced to the triangle of light, the area directly below the eye. If you make a “v” with two fingers one on the inside and outside edges of the eye this frames the area to be lightened. Many may know this technique in other terms but this was simple enough even for me to grasp. You can learn more about the concept at the web link; trishmcevoy.com

The rest was all about finishing the foundation coloring and blending. The completed look finished with bronzing, a kiss of blush on the cheekbone and of course lip color.

Makeup_CaseI really learned a lot of subtle techniques for eye liner application, blending colors to match skin tone, the “cat” eye look and best of all making my skin natural and bright. I always seem to be in a hurry when doing my makeup. Using the right techniques saves you time. During the whole event we didn’t have to do any repairs at all. More importantly I could feel the softness of the brushes caressing my skin completing the process to look and feel beautiful with the final touch of finishing powder!

After the completion of the finishing touches it was time to go over notes. The artist is always good at taking notes on what you liked and didn’t have in your collection. We all want to re create that heavenly experience time and time again.

When attending events such as this, be prepared to buy a few products in exchange for what you have gained. In my case I purchased a beautiful planner with a spring collection not available yet in stores and a few exquisite brushes.

So now I think of the beauty of Taylor swift while using my soft finishing brushes and LOL with a smile knowing those days are long gone but I at least know I’m at my best.

28 January 2013 – Written by Denae Doyle @tglife.com

Transgender Networking

Networking is important, whether its for work, social, or just fun and play. Before we get into networking yourself as a trans woman, let’s ask some important questions.

What are your goals and background?

For the sake of discussion, let’s say you have been cross dressing for years but never thought simply putting on the clothes was enough.

Maybe you have ventured out into gay venues and you don’t quite fit that venue either. Now what?

More than likely it’s time to reach down into the “label” bin and pull out the “transgender” one. You feel the need to express yourself as a female in everyday society. If this is you, read on.

The first lesson to be learned in the bright lights of the world is the need to communicate. As I have said many times, I couldn’t believe how many people felt the need to talk to me. Here I was scared to death and they wanted to chat? Really?

I learned quickly the worst course was not to respond. If I was going to walk the walk, I needed to talk the talk. Turned out it was a scary but wise choice.

Like many of you, I was very unsure where I was going in this whole process, but very quickly I was finding out. Very simply I learned the great majority of the public was fine with the fact I was a trans woman, and slowly but surely I started networking my new life. I discovered a new inner peace I had never known. I was home.

Now, your network possibilities are as diverse as you are, so some thing that worked for me may or may not work for you, or you might find options I haven’t even explored yet.

I happened to be a huge sports fan and put simply started to go to a couple upscale sports bar in my jeans, boots and sometimes even a jersey-as a girl. Hell, genetic women did it why couldn’t I? As luck would have it, within a couple months I actually became accepted as a regular and struck up conversations with the bar tenders and other patrons… mostly women.

Two years later, I’m fortunate to have remained in contact with most of them. Moreover I have also become friends with some of their friends.

My advice would be to be to take one of your favorite interests as a male and transfer them to your female side. Think about it. It’s not that hard. Almost all pursuits today have a male and female following. Mine happened to be sports.

Ironically the other networking tool I used was the most foreign one for one of my generation: computer dating.

Actually my participation was more of computer contacting, rather than dating. I won’t bore you with the extreme number of contacts I went through on several different sites by both sides of the gender spectrum. I will tell you that I found two dear friends from the process and I am a believer in it if you are careful and patient.

So, good luck on your quest. The bottom line is to follow your soul. She will show you the path. If she doesn’t, that’s OK too. Maybe she or you aren’t ready. Just wait until you are!

This is one of the times that life isn’t too short to find your way through a very complex gender process.

Cyrsti Hart

23 June 2012 – @tglife.com

2012-06-23 01:23:00

Review of Neither Man Nor Woman: The Hijras of India

This book makes important contributions to the study of gender variance, sexuality, and South Asian cultures. It was awarded the Ruth Benedict Prize, given by the Society of Lesbian and Gay Anthropologists, and contains a forward written by the sexologist John Money. Nanda’s focus is the hijras, effeminate or androgynous males who do not fulfill a standard man’s role. She bases her book on several years of fieldwork in an unnamed city in southern India, where she studied a hijra community of about two hundred persons. She also worked in Bombay, which is a center of hijra culture.

Nanda defines hijras as occupying an alternative gender role, distinct from either men or women. She draws comparisons with the American Indian berdache, the xanith of Oman, and the mahu in Tahiti. In contrast, she points out, the transsexual role in Western culture is not accepted as a fully recognized gender. This non-acceptance, she argues, is due to a lack of religious sanction and an “unyielding Western commitment to a dichotomous gender system” (p. 137), which expects all “normal” persons to conform to one of only two gender roles. Western ideology, uncomfortable with ambiguity, strives to resolve in-between categories.

Hindu ideology not only accomodates the reality of ambiguity anddiversity among different personality types, but also conceptionalizes androgynous persons as special sacred beings. Hindu mythology makes frequent reference to combined man/woman beings. The cognition of hijras as religious figures, as neither men nor women, provides them with social respect and an institutional character. They are seen as representatives of the Hindu goddess Bahuchara Mata, which gives them ritual power. Not just tolerating contradiction, but actively embracing it, Hindus believe that hijras have powers to bless heterosexual marriages so that they will be fertile, and infant males so that they will grow up to become masculine men.

Nanda, a professor at John Jay College, corrects many inaccuracies that anthropologists have written about hijras. First, she points out, they are not morphological hermaphrodites, but were androgynous in character from early childhood and voluntarily joined a hijra community during their adolescence. Second, they are not forced to undergo a surgical operation to remove their penis and testicles, though many of them do this by their own wish. Third, most hijras are sexually active with men, being the insertee in anal intercourse.

Some gain their livelihood through prostituting themselves to masculine males, while others marry a man and live together as husband and wife. Indian society traditionally did not see such pairings as “homosexual,” since hijras were not considered to be the same gender as their masculine partners. Hijras are not defined as “men,” because they have no desire to engage in masculine labor and activities, they do not wish to have sex with women, and they do not want to father children. Conversely, hijras are not seen as “women,” because even though they may engage in women’s occupations, they do not menstruate and cannot give birth. The book’s striking photographs show hijras dressed in women’s clothing, and wearing feminine hairstyles and jewelry. Yet, at the same time, Indian people recognize that hijras are not actually women. They are not-men/not-women.

Due to the Western colonial influence, which condemns gender variance and homosexuality, the status of hijras in modern Indian society has declined. Among Westernized Indians, hijras’ presence at weddings and baptismal ceremonials is only barely tolerated. Hijras’ temples are not given adequate financial support, and many hijras suffer employment discrimination. As a result, prostitution is often the only occupation open to them. Nanda’s study unfortunately does not address the impact of the spread of the AIDS epidemic. Recent reports indicate that AIDS infection is quite prevalent among both male and female prostitutes in India. The fact that vaginal or anal intercourse is now considered the only proper form of sexual interaction in India is unfortunate, especially considering the popularity of oral sex, interfemoral sex, and other less dangerous forms of erotic interaction in pre-colonial Asia. For many, the imposition of Western notions of “normal” sexuality will literally lead to death.

Though her psychoanalytic interpretation is problematic, Nanda’s study is an important addition to the growing literature of life histories. The book includes four hijras’ detailed personal narratives, which contribute to recent trends in feminist anthropology emphasizing life stories. Nanda rightly recognizes the need for scholars to acknowledge individual variation, to understand the gendered perspectives of non-Western peoples in their own words. This book avoids the pitfall of many ethnographies which present only a generalized “culture” while lacking a presentation of real peoples’ lives.

Nanda agrees with this reviewer’s thesis, presented in The Spirit and the Flesh: Sexual Diversity in American Indian Culture (Beacon 1986), that religion is the crucial factor in the acceptance of homosexuality and gender variance. Nanda concludes that alternative gender roles will be socially accepted when the religious ideology of that culture offers (1) a specific explanation for such difference, (2) formalized traditions in ritual, (3) a recognition that there are many different paths to personal fulfillment, enlightenment or salvation, and (4) the idea that gender-variant persons cannot resist following their own true nature, and are fated to be the way they are. The implications here are important for a cross-cultural understanding of homophobia, and what must be done for it to be overcome. It is not enough for a religion to be “tolerant” of gender diversity and sexual variation; it must also provide specific recognition for such diversity. By showing the social advantages to be gained by an appreciation for diversity, Nanda’s study deserves a wide reading.

Review of Neither Man Nor Woman: The Hijras of India. By Serena Nanda.
Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing Company, 1990.
Reviewed by Walter L. Williams, in American Ethnologist 1992.
transgender.org – 2011

Two-spirit People Of Indigenous North Americans

Many Native American indigenous cultures have traditionally held intersex, androgynous people, feminine males, and masculine females in high respect. The most common term to define such persons today is to refer to them as Two Spirit people, but in the past feminine males were sometimes referred to as “berdache” by early French explorers in North America, who adapted a Persian word “bardaj,” meaning a close intimate male friend. Because these androgynous males were commonly married to a masculine man, or had sex with men, and the masculine females had feminine women as wives, the term berdache had a clear homosexual connotation. Both the Spaniards in Latin America and the English colonists in North America condemned them as “sodomites.”

Rather than emphasizing the homosexual orientation of these persons, however, many Native American cultures focused on the spiritual gifts of such persons. American Indian traditionalists, even today, tend to see a person’s basic character as a reflection of their spirit. Since everything that exists is thought to come from the spirit world, androgynous or transgender persons are seen as doubly blessed, having both the spirit of a man and the spirit of a woman. Thus, they are honored for having two spirits, and are seen as more spiritually gifted than the typical masculine male or feminine female.

From this religious perspective, androgynous or transgendered persons are honored as sacred. Therefore, many Native American religions, rather than stigmatizing such persons, often looked to them as religious leaders and teachers. Because researchers are so dependent upon the written sources of early European explorers, it is difficult to say with certainty exactly how widespread were these traditions of respect. Quite similar religious traditions existed among the native peoples of Siberia and many other parts of Asia. Since the ancestors of Native Americans migrated from Siberia over 15,000 years ago, and since reports of highly respected Two Spirit androgynous persons have been reported among indigenous Americans from Alaska in the north to Chile in the south, androgyny seems to be quite ancient among humans.

Though some anthropologists have equated Two Spirit people with transsexuality, there was no tradition of Native Americans castrating Two Spirit males. Rather than attempting to change the physical body, Native Americans emphasized a person’s “spirit,” or character, as being most important. Instead of seeing Two Spirit persons as transsexuals who try to make themselves into “the opposite sex”, it is more accurate to understand them as unique individuals who take on a gender status that is different from both men and women. This alternative gender status offers a range of possibilities, from only-slightly effeminate males or masculine females, to androgynous or transgender persons, to those who completely cross-dress and act as the other gender. The emphasis of Native Americans is not to force every person into one box, but to allow for the reality of diversity in gender and sexual identities.

Because so many eastern North American cultures were so quickly overwhelmed by the European invasion, there is not much evidence of Two Spirit traditions in those societies. But the little evidence that does exist suggests that, especially before they converted to Christianity, these eastern Indians also respected Two Spirit people. Most of the evidence for respectful Two Spirit traditions is focused on the native peoples of the Plains, the Great Lakes, the Southwest, and California. With over a thousand vastly different cultural and linguistic backgrounds, it is important not to overgeneralize for the indigenous peoples of North America. Some documentary sources suggest that a minority of societies treated Two Spirit persons disrespectfully, by kidding them or discouraging children from taking on a Two Spirit role. However, many of the documents which report negative reactions are themselves suspect, and should be evaluated critically in light of the preponderance of evidence that suggests a respectful attitude. Some European commentators, from early frontier explorers to modern anthropologists, also were influenced by their own homophobic prejudices to distort Native attitudes.

Two Spirit people were respected by native societies not only due to religious attitudes, but also because of practical concerns. Because their gender roles involved a mixture of both masculine and feminine traits, Two Spirit persons could do both the work of men and of women. They were often considered to be hard workers and artistically gifted craftspersons, of great value to their extended families and community. Among some groups, such as the Navajo, a family was believed to be economically benefited by having a “nadleh” (literally translated as “one who is transformed”) androgynous person as a relative. Two Spirit persons assisted their siblings’ children and took care of elderly relatives, and often served as adoptive parents for homeless children.

A feminine male who preferred to do women’s work (gathering wild plants or farming domestic plants) was logically expected to marry a masculine male, who did men’s work (hunting and warfare). Because a family needed both plant foods and meat, a masculine female hunter, in turn, usually married a feminine female, to provide these complementary gender roles for economic survival. The gender-conforming spouse of Two Spirit people did not see themselves as “homosexual” or as anything other than “normal.”

In the twentieth century, as homophobic European Christian influences increased among many Native Americans, respect for same-sex love and for androgynous persons greatly declined. Two Spirit people were often forced, either by government officials, Christian missionaries or their own community, to conform to standard gender roles. Some, who could not conform, either went underground or committed suicide. With the imposition of Euroamerican marriage laws, the same-sex marriages of Two Spirit people and their spouses were no longer legally recognized. But with the revitalization of Native American “Red Power” cultural pride in the 1960s and 1970s, and the rise of gay and lesbian liberation movements at the same time, a new respect for androgyny started slowly reemerging among Indian people.

Because of this tradition of respect, in the 1990s many gay and lesbian Native American activists in the United States and Canada rejected the French word berdache in favor of the term “Two Spirit People” to describe themselves. Many non-Indians have incorporated knowledge of Native American Two Spirit traditions into their increasing acceptance of same-sex love, androgyny and transgender diversity. Native American same-sex marriages have been used as a model for legalizing same-sex marriages in the new millennium, and the spiritual gifts of androgynous persons have started to become more recognized.

by Walter L. Williams
Professor of Anthropology and Gender Studies
University of Southern California

References:

Paula Gunn Allen. The Sacred Hoop: Recovering the Feminine in American Indian Traditions. Boston: Beacon Press, 1986.
Sue-Ellen Jacobs, Wesley Thomas, and Sabine Lang, editors. Two-Spirit People: Native American Gender Identity, Sexuality, and Spirituality. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1997.
Jonathan Katz. Gay American History. New York: Crowell, 1976.
Sabine Lang. Men as Women, Women as Men: Changing Gender in Native American Cultures. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1998.
Will Roscoe, editor. Living the Spirit: A Gay American Indian Anthology. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1988.
Will Roscoe. The Zuni Man-Woman. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1991.
Will Roscoe, The Changed Ones
Walter L. Williams. The Spirit and the Flesh: Sexual Diversity in American Indian Culture. Boston: Beacon Press, 1986 and 1992.
Walter L. Williams and Toby Johnson. Two Spirits: A Story of Life with the Navajo. Lethe Press, 2006.

transgender.org – 2011

Transgender Identities in the Ancient Mediterranean

The interaction between religion and a society’s construction of gender has important ramifications for transgender communities within that culture. This relationship is especially compelling in the Ancient Mediterranean, in which a number of cultures with diverse spiritual and social environments thrived prior to the spread of Christianity. Within these cultures, religion provided a space for transgender individuals within a larger society that enforced strict regulations on gender binaries. This paper will focus specifically on the Greco-Roman Empire and the pre-Islamic cultures of the Middle East. Transgender communities within the Greco-Roman and pre-Islamic cultures demonstrate some of the commonalities found throughout the Mediterranean. Namely, the ability of these cultures to accommodate transgender identity within their religious institutions allows transgender people to occupy a mildly tolerated space within their culture.

Before examining these transgender communities in depth, however, it is important to explicitly define the terminology that will be used throughout this paper. Firstly, “transgender” is used differently throughout academic literature. For the purposes of this paper, the term “transgender” will be used liberally to identify any individual whose gender identity or gender expression does not entirely correspond to their assigned sex. This umbrella term includes crossdressing, androgyny, intersexuality, and transsexuality; where relevant, these terms will also be employed to indicate specific behaviors or identities. The regions discussed will be collectively referred to as the Ancient Mediterranean; however, the time frame and geographical space covered is quite large, and cannot be exhaustively discussed within the bounds of this paper. As such, the paper will focus on a selection of cultures which illustrate the most important aspects of Mediterranean transgenderism. “Greco-Roman culture” refers to the historical and mythological tradition beginning with early antiquity in Greece and ending with the fall of the Roman Empire and onset of the Dark Ages in the 5th and 6th centuries AD . “Pre-Islamic culture” refers to the pagan religions of the Middle East prior to the introduction of Islam in the 7th century AD, with specific consideration of traditions practiced by the peoples of Ancient Mesopotamia in modern-day Iraq as well as those of Phrygia in modern-day Turk2ey.

Greek mythology has a long and complex history; little is known of early belief systems, and many inconsistencies and alternative variations exist of prominent Greek myths. However, it is clear that the divine had an extremely influential role on Greco-Roman society for many centuries. In general, the mythological traditions were closely related to the aspects of human existence which were most prevalent in everyday Greek life. For instance, many immortals were given responsibility over important crops, family, or the household. Mythology also played an important role in creation theory; it explained why the world existed, and why society was constructed as it was (Graves 4-17). Accordingly, gender had a very important role to play in Greek mythology. Ancient Greeks looked to the narratives surrounding their deities for guidance on how society should be structured, and what part men and women were to play within that society. Moreover, mythology also provided insight into how society should approach those individuals who somehow transgress the standard male-female gender binary. As is often the case in the study of mythology, messages regarding gender identity were very mixed.

In many ways, nonconformity to the gender binary within Greek mythology was often used to reinforce the importance of the strict delineation between men and women in society. This is seen in the myth of Hermaphroditus, son of the prominent gods Hermes and Aphrodite. At the age of 15, the naïve young boy went adventuring on his own. While in the forest, the nymph Salamacis tried to convince Hermaphroditus to be her lover; the young boy curtly denied her proposal, and continued on into the forest. As she watched, Hermaphroditus dove into a forest lake and began playing. Salamacis suddenly jumped into the pool as well, forcing herself upon the young Hermaphroditus; as she did so, she cried out: “Grant this, you gods, that no day comes to part me from him, or him from me.” In answer to her prayer, the Gods bound Salama-cis’s body to Hermaphroditus’s, creating one intersex being. Hermaphroditus was dismayed at his predicament, and so cursed the lake so that any man who entered the lake “may rise again supple, unsinew’d, and but half a man” (Ovid). The myth of Hermaphroditus is the source of the term “hermaphrodite,” and is unique in its portrayal of intersexuality in Greek mythology. The myth reveals the dominant perception in Greek society of those who do not fall easily into the category of either “man” or “woman”: intersexuality is portrayed as a curse, and those who are intersex are deemed “but half a man.” As a commentary on the social status of transgender people in Greece, the myth of Hermaphroditus shows the more derogatory perspective of those not conforming to the gender binary; those who do not contribute to the dominant social construct are viewed as undesirable and unwelcome.

However, the opposite message can be seen in the popular Greek character of Tiresias. Tireseas is a prevalent character throughout Greek mythology; the blind seer played the role of wise advisor in a number of plays, including Antigone, The Bacchae, The Odyssey, and Oedipus the King, and is an archetypal figure in world literature. However, a lesser known story is that told by Ovid in Metamorphoses, detailing the source of Tiresias’s wisdom. As a young man, Tiresias was walking when he encountered two snaked mating on the ground; without reason, Tiresias parted the two snakes, and was immediately transformed into a woman. At first Tiresias was unhappy with his fate; however, he ultimately lived the next seven years as a woman, until he was magically returned to a man after once again separating two snakes he found mating. Later, the gods Zeus and Hera were arguing over whether men or women enjoy sex more; because of Tiresias’s unique insights derived from his time as both a man and a woman, he was called upon to settle the question. Upon siding with Zeus, Hera struck Tiresias with blindness; Zeus, however, gifted the man with the gift of prophecy. (Ovid 3.316-338) Through his unusual and undermentioned experience as a transgender woman, Tiresias was seen as benefiting from an enhanced understanding of the world. As one author notes, “Though the tales that emphasize Tiresias’s prophetic insights in later years make no reference to these events of his youth, one could still play with the notion that some part of his wisdom derives from perspectives gained during the years he spent as a woman” (Downing 183). Tiresias was a valued contributor to society, and was relied upon regularly throughout Greek literature as a wise and insightful advisor. This interpretation of the value of transgender people in Greek mythology differs greatly from that of Hermaphroditus, and demonstrates the very mixed attitudes toward gender nonconformity in Greek antiquity.

Perhaps the most important transgender representation in everyday life for citizens in Greece was that of the gender-bending goddesses. While all goddesses, by virtue of their powerful positions in Greek society, defied the traditional feminine role, several goddesses did so explicitly and consequentially. Foremost of these are Athena, Artemis and Hecate (Allen 1). Athena, favorite amongst the goddesses of Greece, was the goddess of wisdom and military victory. Greek myths state that Athena had no birth mother, which in many ways explains why she was imbued with such masculine characteristics; her sole parent was the hypermasculine Zeus. She is generally depicted as a warrior, wearing helmet and armor and wielding a shield, and ranked higher even than most male gods in the hierarchy of Olympus. Similarly, Artemis, the goddess of the hunt, is patron of a patently masculine activity. Moreover, Artemis refused to be wed to a man, and often times punished men for expressing interest in her. The goddess Artemis is often depicted in gender-neutral clothing; while her robe is feminine, her belt is identifiably masculine, as is her weapon of choice: the bow and arrow. The goddess Hecate, known in Rome as Diana, acted as intermediary between the Underworld and the Earth. Hecate was feared amongst mortals and immortals alike for her great power, which she was not hesitant to use against those she disliked. While she was more feminine than Hecate in appearance, her personality was devoid of traditionally feminine attributes: she was considered cold and remorseless, even to her fellow immortals (Britannica). These female characters were important in debunking the strict gendered traditions of Greco-Roman culture; however, more important than the goddesses themselves were the mortal worshippers holding spiritual positions in their temples.

Transgenderism was not only a mythological or spiritual element in Greek society; many aspects of religious practice in the mortal world incorporated transgender individuals. This was especially prevalent in goddess worship, where biologically male followers of the goddesses would assume feminine roles in order to serve as priestesses in their temples. This phenomenon was a common occurrence, and has been cited to varying degrees in the worship of Artemis, Hecate, Diana, and others. For some, as in the case of Artemis, transgender worship simply constituted the adornment of male priests in the clothing of the goddess; this ritualistic crossdressing was done in order to communicate directly with the goddess, who would speak neither to biological females nor males in men’s clothing. However, for Hecate, transgender worship was taken much further. In many temples of Hecate, males would castrate themselves in order to serve as a priestess to the goddess. As patron goddess of witchcraft, castration was oftentimes done during the casting of spells and other magical rituals in honor of Hecate. These MTF priestesses, known as the Semnotatoi, were imbued with rights and privileges that neither men nor women were given in the temples of Hecate (Conner). They served a special function in the worship of the goddess, and as such occupied a safe space within the spiritual institutions of Greek society.

However, the safe spaces for transgender identities provided by Greek spirituality did not extend into secular society. As noted in Sexual Ambivalence: Androgyny and Hermaphroditism in Graeco-Roman Antiquity, “the possession of both sexes at once rendered all reproduction impossible and undermined all life as a couple and a family- and even all social organization since, at that time, the latter rested upon a strict division of roles and functions that was, in the last analysis, founded upon the sexual difference” (Brisson 7). Similarly, a castrated person could occupy the social role of neither man nor woman, husband nor wife, father nor mother; as such, they did not fit into the strict organization of Greek and Roman society, and threatened traditional understandings of interpersonal relationships. Many transgender followers of Hecate did not live in or serve the temple, and instead performed witchcraft for citizens of major Roman cities as their principal source of income; this practice was viewed as dark and blasphemous, and was not highly viewed within Greek society. Many of these practitioners had voluntarily undergone the ritual castration also practiced by Hecate’s MtF priestesses (Platine 2). These participants in the occult were often the victims of violent crimes, and at times were even subject to state-sponsored purges. The marginalization and discrimination against these individuals within the Roman Empire reflects the very limited acceptance for transgender identities in Greco-Roman culture. While religious figures with transgendered identities would be mildly tolerated in protected spiritual spaces, no such behavior would be endured within secular Roman communities.

The safe space for transgender identity within Greco-Roman spiritual institutions did not exist indefinitely. As the Roman Empire declined and the Dark Ages began to take effect, cults of the Olympian gods slowly dwindled of their own accord; religious practices in general waned, as communities tended not to identify themselves as strongly with Greco-Roman culture without the influence of a strong central Roman Empire. This process was exacerbated by the growing influence of Christianity; as the early figures of Christianity spread their value systems across the Western world, many temples were pillaged for what was construed as immoral behavior. Writings from early Christians were harshly critical of transgender behavior in order to distinguish the new religion from the polytheistic Greek practices, which included gender-bending rituals (Britannica). By the 4th and 5th centuries, transgender identity in the context of spiritual ritualism was no longer a reality in the European Mediterranean.

However, Greco-Roman culture was not the only society to adopt transgender practices as part of its social construct. In fact, the most detailed surviving accounts of ancient transgenderism in the Mediterranean are those of the pre-Islamic Middle East. Prior to the introduction of Judeo-Christian religions, the Middle East was home to a highly variable system of polytheistic spirituality. Similarly to the Greco-Roman model of transgender spirituality, much of the justification for transgender behavior was derived from their religious beliefs; however, this social space for transgender identity overflowed into secular society in the pre-Islamic Middle East far more extensively than in ancient Greece and the Roman Empire. While transgender communities seem to have originated in the context of polytheistic religious cult practices, this limited acceptance for transgendered individuals eventually crept into mainstream society. These populations occupied a special role in pre-Islamic society; known as the mukhannathun, these male to female crossdressers and transexuals were relatively welcomed in secular society until the introduction of conservative Muslim values in the 7th and 8th centuries.

One of the earliest recorded communities of transgender individuals is that of the Gala, the third-gender priestesses serving the goddess Inanna of Babylonia during the 8th century BC. The goddess Inanna herself was a symbol of gender deviance, and was often portrayed as androgynous. She was simultaneously the hyperfeminine goddess of sexuality and a hypermasculine god of war. For this reason, the worship of Inanna often incorporated transgender elements (Harris 82). The temple practices of Inanna were highly complex; there were a number of different types of Gala, each of which served a different function in the rites of their goddess. One type of Gala priestess was the Kurgarru, a biological male who wore a robe that was feminine on one side and masculine on the other. The Kurgarru were highly esteemed in Babylonia; in one story of Inanna, the genderless Kurgarru were created in order to save Inanna from the Underworld. However, even more prestigious were the Assinnu, or the transsexual priestesses of Inanna. The Assinnu underwent ritual castration as part of a mes, or a divine calling of the goddess. The Assinnu were believed to have been imbued with great powers of protection and fortune. Warriors of Ancient Mesopotamia would touch the head of an Assinnu before battle, believing just this brief contact would spare them from danger. However, the most important role of the Assinnu was that of a hierodule, or sacred prostitute. The Assinnu were believed to be the physical incarnation of the goddess Inanna, and by sleeping with an Assinnu a follower of Inanna was essentially coupling with the Goddess herself (Platine 2). Not much is known of the Gala in ancient Babylonia; however, it is evident that the transgender priestesses of Inanna held a lofty position in the spiritual institutions of Mesopotamia.

The most well-known and well-documented instance of transgender identity within the spiritual practices of the pre-Islamic Middle East were those of the Phrygian goddess Cybele in the 6th-4th centuries BC. Cybele was central to Phrygian worship; as Mother Goddess, Cybele was given power over the Earth, mountains, and wild animals. Worship of Cybele was particularly unique, as religious practices often included ecstatic and orgiastic rituals. Her followers, called Corybantes, were infamous throughout the Mediterranean (Conner). In fact, the goddess Cybele was worshipped throughout the Mediterranean in various forms; in Greece she was known as “Meter,” and was worshipped similarly to the Phrygian Cybele. The goddess was followed by a group of transgender Corybantes known as Gallae, who were biological males who would adopt female attributes in order to worship the goddess. The exact nature of transgender behavior amongst the gallae is uncertain, and varied widely between different temples. While some cult followers would simply adopt the clothing, make-up, and mannerisms of a priestess, others would undergo ritual castration in order to become closer to the goddess. The Gallae performed a very specific role in both Phrygian and Greek society: they were the sole individuals capable of communicating with the goddess, and were essential to many ecstatic rituals in honor of Cybele (Lucker 18-27). This distinct role created a very mixed attitude toward the Gallae; while their unique position gave them a mystical and impressive place in society, they were also feared and ridiculed by those not associated with the cult of Cybele. This transgender community had important ramifications for the treatment of transgender individuals in the mainstream society of the pre-Islamic Middle East.

Outside the realm of pre-Islamic spirituality, a community known as the Mukhannath emerged, ultimately establishing itself as a component of secular society. This group was entirely unincorporated into the male/female gender dichotomy of the Middle Eastern social construct; instead, they were viewed as outsiders. While the Mukhannath were biologically male, they wore women’s clothing, make-up, and hairstyles, and used feminine mannerisms and speech. They were passive sexual partners for men, and often engaged in prostitution; in some instances the Mukhannath were eunuchs (Haggerty 173-175). However, this is not to say they were not important elements of pre-Islamic society. Mukhannath were highly reputed as singers and entertainers, and in the years prior to the introduction of Islam were seen as the pinnacle of artistic talent. They were further empowered by their outsider status; while they were free to mingle with women in ways that men could not, they were also free from the social limitations placed on women by the strict societal standards. The Mukhannath are unique within the Mediterranean cultures, as they are the rare community that managed to thrive outside the protected institution of religion and goddess worship. For a number of years the Mukhannath were tolerated, although controversial, members of society.

However, much like the transgender priestesses of ancient Greece, the pre-Islamic trans-gender communities of the Gala, Gallae, and Mukhannath were quelled by the influence of new religious values in their culture. The prophet Muhammad made his opinion of transgendered individuals in Islamic society blatantly clear in a 8th century hadith, or written record of his teachings, in which it was noted that “The Prophet cursed men who imitate women (al-mukhannathin min al-rijal) and women who imitate men.” A second hadith states that “There was a mukhannath who used to be admitted to the presence of the Prophet’s wives. He was considered one of those lacking interest in women. One day the Prophet entered when this mukhannath was with one of his wives… the Prophet said, ‘Oho! I think this one knows what goes on here! Do not admit him into your presence!’ So he was kept out.” (Ibn Hanbal) The introduction of these narratives to mainstream Middle Eastern culture resulted in heightened animosity towards the mukhannath, beginning with the lowered social status of the mukhannath, and culminating in banishment and execution for many transgendered individuals for moral indecency. The temples of Hecate and Cybele did not survive the arrival of Islam; polygamist religious practices were quickly expelled from the region, as were the special spaces for transgender identity infused into the pre-Islamic Mediterranean’s spiritual institutions.

The Ancient Mediterranean was home to a number of diverse cultures in the many years prior to the introduction of Judeo-Christian religion. However, as the sampling presented in this paper suggests, there are many commonalities in the way these cultures addressed transgenderism. In the realm of polytheistic spirituality, male to female transgender behavior was commonplace and marginally accepted. While at times scorned or marginalized, the semnotatoi of Hecate, the kurgarru and assinu of Inanna, and the gallae of Cybele occupied a rare and special space in the spiritual traditions of their people. Transgender identity was expressed differently between the numerous cults of the polytheistic Mediterranean; crossdressing, androgyny, and transsexuality were all present in numerous forms. By analyzing the spiritual deities and mythology of the Greco-Roman and pre-Islamic societies of this region, both the impetus for acceptance and the causes of marginalization are clear. The incorporation of the transgendered into the societies of the Ancient Mediterranean was contested by some, and accepted by others. However, this acceptance had its limits; the secular mukhannath were an uncommon example of mainstream transgenderism, and were highly controversial in pre-Islamic cultures. This dynamic and complex treatment of transgendered individuals in the Ancient Mediterranean was largely erased by the massive influence of Christianity and Islam in the region. However, records of these unique and innovative spaces for transgender identity within social structures based on a strict gender binary continue to provide a useful commentary on the role of the transgendered in a world that ostracizes the unfamiliar and criminalizes the unique.

Kyle McNeal 10 December 2009 SWMS 355 Williams

Works Cited

Allen, Mercedes. “Transgender History: Trans Expression in Ancient Times.” The Bilerico Project: Daily Experiments in LGBTQ. 12 February 2008. .Brisson, Luc. Sexual Ambivalence: Androgyny and Hermaphroditism in Graeco-Roman Antiq uity. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2002.
Conner, Randy. Blossom of Bone: Reclaiming the Connections Between Homoeroticism and the Sacred. Harpercollins: 1993.
Downing, Christina. “Same-Sex Love in the Age of Heroes.” Myths and Mysteries of Same-Sex Love. Continuum Publishing, 1991.
Encyclopedia Britannica. Encyopedia Britannica, Inc. Chicago, Illinois. .
Graves, Robert. The Greek Myths. London: Penguin Books, 1992.
Haggerty, George. “Mukhannath.” Gay Histories and Cultures: An Encyclopedia. Volume 2. Taylor & Francis, 2000.
Harris, Rivkah. “Inanna-Ishtar as Paradox and a Coincidence of Opposites.” History of Religions
30.3 (1991): 261-278.Ibn Hanbal. Musnad. Cairo, 895. Lucker, K.A. “The Gallae: Transgender Priests of Ancient Greece, Rome, and the Near East.”
New College of Florida (2005): 1-27.
Ovid. Metamorphoses. London: Wordsworth Editions Limited, 1998. Rowson, Everett. “The Effeminates of Early Medina.” Journal of the American Oriental Society 111.4 (1991): 671-693.
Platine, Cahtryn. “We Are an Old People, We Are a New People: Transsexual Priestesses, Sexuality and the Goddess.” gallae.com. 2007. .

transgender.org – 2011

Eyebrow Grooming and Tweezing for Trans Women

Femininity Expert Denae Doyle Explains How To Get That Perfect Brow!

For many crossdressers having too thin of an eyebrow is the first thing that will give you away while in “guy mode”. Here are some great tips for getting your eyebrows cleaned up and looking well in both male and female mode.

How your eyebrows are groomed can make a considerable difference in your appearance. Eyebrows help shape your eyes and give you character. If you have bushy eyebrows, it’s important to keep them trimmed and well groomed. Most people need some kind of eyebrow maintenance. Many of these tips work well for women as well as men.

Never shave your eyebrows for a quick fix. You will regret it later when they all start growing back in. It will look obvious, and require constant maintenance – so save the razor for your beard.

Depilatories are not a good idea to use around the eye area and there’s plenty of room for mistakes. This can irritate your skin and your hairs will also grow back much quicker than waxing or tweezing.

Waxing your eyebrows is best done professionally, however there are many kits on the market for this purpose. They come with step-by-step instructions to simplify the process. If you decide to do this at home, have a professional do it the first time so you can see how it’s done. Be prepared for some temporary discomfort and pain.

Trimming Your Eyebrows

Depending on how thick your eyebrows are, sometimes all you need is a small pair of scissors to trim away the stray hairs. Grooming and trimming your brows is best done under a bright light for accuracy.

First decide what areas need attention and slowly trim your eyebrows in the direction of hair growth. Don’t go overboard, if you trim your hairs too short, they will stick out and look silly. You may want to do this over a few days, after you have a chance to decide if you’re on the right track.

Plucking away Stray Eyebrow Hairs

Aside from waxing, tweezing is still the most efficient method for removing eyebrow hairs. If you need to pluck your eyebrows, keep a clean pair of tweezers handy for this use only.

Men are tempted to use tweezers for other things, such as cleaning their fingernails. Don’t! This will make them unsanitary and less effective. If you do this, you’ll probably need to buy a new pair when the ends don’t meet properly to grab the hairs.

Start off with moistened brows. Tweezing after a shower is ideal, but you can soak your brow area with a warm washcloth for several minutes and it will have the same effect. Comb your eyebrows in the direction of their growth and let them fall naturally in place.

After deciding which areas need thinning out, tweeze your eyebrows in the direction of hair growth. For an even look, start underneath, from the inside, out. Pull them out one by one to avoid mistakes. Be careful, some hairs may not grow back! Tweeze the center of your eyebrows and look carefully to make sure you don’t get them too far apart. You can always go back later and remove additional hairs if you need more space.

Don’t pluck away too many hairs from the top of your brow. Target the obvious stray hairs and thin them out a little. Again, start from the center, then outwards.

Correcting Eyebrow Mistakes

Mistakes are bound to happen, even with a steady hand. If you should find yourself with some empty spaces or bald patches, don’t fret. Fill in your eyebrows with an eye pencil or eye shadow that closely resembles the color of your hairs. By grooming your brows and blending in the color, they will look more natural.

09 July 2011 – Written by Denae Doyle @tglife.com