Out in the World

Janie shoveling snow

Winter Life – Digging Out

Ah, life in Canada! We had our first real snowfall here this weekend.

I know, who comes here for the weather report? Well, sometimes all the mumbo jumbo about life as a trans woman comes down to simply living your life.

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tgs in tiaras promo

TGs in Tiaras – A Gala Ball

“TGs in Tiaras” is the name given to a brand new event hereabouts.

It will be a glittering ball with everyone dressed to the nines in their finest gowns, cocktail dresses and formal attire. It is a nice idea and a great opportunity to get all made up, dolled up and dressed up.

For me, it is a doubly happy affair, as I have the honor of having been selected as the photographer for the event.

outing roasting giant marshmallow on campfire barbecue

Outing Outdoors

One of the things I love most about summer are barbecues… cooking and eating outdoors, en plein air… cold, refreshing beer, the wafting of wood-fired smoke and aromas of slowly cooking meat, the special acoustic qualities of sky and trees on music out of doors, and good friends at a relaxed pace on a long weekend.

A perfect setting for an outing…

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guests under some delusion that I am a man

Delusion – What Exactly Are You Seeing?

I had a bunch of people over for a Canada Day barbecue.

I was dressed as you see me in the photo below, which was taken just after everyone left. Now, what sort of delusion are my friends under that not one of them had any reaction whatsoever, good, bad or indifferent, despite knowing me only as a guy? 

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frock magazine article photo of Janie Black

Catch Me in Frock Magazine

The current issue of Frock Magazine is out on the virtual newsstands, and there is a six-page spread by and about me, starting at page 58, called “Beauty on the Gender Line.” (The issue is #21, June/July 2013.)

To save you the trip – and a few of their maddeningly ill-advised edits of the article – I reproduce the contents here –

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gender identity distinctions crushed and bulldozed

Fine Gender Identity Distinctions Are All in My Mind

It seemed to me an awfully big deal to finally see the possibility of expressing my feminine gender identity as a man rather than as a woman. (See Trying on the Yaoi Gender Mix for Size and A New Take on My Male Gender Identity for more.)

I have expressed concerns about the latter, feeling to some degree, inauthentic, or put on. And, I have expressed the opinion that as long as I stay on the male side of the coin, the degree of my femininity is merely a question of fashion and therefore not subject to the same kinds of reactions and objections as gender questions might be.

Well, I didn’t get very far along this yaoi road before reality – at least my reality – stepped squarely in my path.

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redhead tranny in her halloween costume

First Halloween Party

The Saturday night before Halloween is often the best party night of the holiday, as people can stay out late and let loose.

Opera House during Fetish Halloween PartyWith Halloween on Wednesday night, and people having to get up for work on Thursday, the parties do get a bit sparse after a few hours, and the incredible efforts some folks put into their costumes don’t get their full return. So, Saturday night’s the night.

I was pretty much in awe of the shindig thrown by the Subspace people (http://www.subspacelive.ca/) at a place called the Opera House. The venue was decked out professionally to look its ghoulish best, the soaring ceilings and terrific lighting system made for an amazing space, and the shows they did on stage were equally impressive.

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ladies at Home Depot

Ladies, What Ladies?

It actually took me by surprise, my reaction to this clerk referring to me and my GF as “ladies.”

We started the day going out for coffee and pedicures, followed by a stop on our way home at Home Depot. We needed to get some answers about some work that needed to be done at our home, what was involved, whether we could do it ourselves or have to hire someone, what it all would cost, etc., etc.

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Cozy Feeling

I have a lot to think about today, so I had an idea that I would decamp to a cafe for a change of venue to help in the thought process.

Little did I expect the weather to come right out of central casting.

It is a comfortably warm day, but rainy and grey.

As chance would have it, I got a seat at the communal table right by the totally open front wall of the cafe, and my cappuccino arrived just as I sat down.

I take a deep breath and inhale it all…

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Bonding Beyond the Bubble

Coming down off the high that is my reunion with the great women of Wildside, I have to remind myself of what real life is about. There is at least a bit of a tendency to think, “Ahhh, that’s the good life; that’s what being a tgirl is all about!”img_7660a

But, it’s not.

As much as the friendships and good times are the stuff of which a great life is made, the experiences of that week are far too intense and short-lived to be able to extrapolate much from them.

Burning It Up

Wildside burns like a meteor, which – as everyone knows – soon crashes to the ground. We all put our party-selves into high gear and rock Vegas for a week, but by the end of it, even the most hearty of our number – and perhaps, especially they – have run out of gas and need a week to recuperate.

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