Dec
21
Xpressions is a group hereabouts that runs monthly casual, come-as-you-are pub nights, occasional organized restaurant dinners and an annual Christmas Gala Weekend.
I came to know about Xpressions very early in my female existence, and their pub night seemed a most welcoming venue to make one of my very first outings to. And I have to say that I learned a lot about myself and the road I was starting on from them. And, for that I am truly thankful.
I have returned once in a while to maintain my connection to the group, but I never got really super-involved with them.
Truth be told, once I passed a certain level of comfort with being a woman, it seemed to me that the issues that I wanted to talk about and think about were not the same as those that were being bandied about at their meetings. Also, the group seemed to be a bit older and more conservative than I am.
This year, Xpressions invited me to be their photographer for their Christmas Gala party. That was a bit of luck for me, because from my vantage point as a detached observer (yet welcome guest), I came to realize the richness of the community they have built.
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Dec
16
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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07
Just a little practice doing a self-portrait. I am working to improve my craft, but sometimes it is slow-going. Then again, I think this one has something special to say…
Sep
02
“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.
Aug
14
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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Aug
12
By now, the exciting news has leaked out – that I have red hair. Well, I have always had red hair, but now it is REALLY RED HAIR.
For most women, the choice of hair color is not a piddling concern, but likely not life-changing. For me, it is very likely to be.
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Jul
03
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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Jun
03
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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Apr
03
Why do I do this gender thing? This is a big question for me.
Many people have a ready answer, “I was born this way.” I am not sure I believe that about myself, and even if it is so, there is not enough there to stop and put the pen down.
I have noted the number of issues in my life that being Janie has addressed. She has added excitement and motivation to my life, she has increased my self-esteem, she has helped me break some debilitating patterns – and there is lots more I expect to come.
But, I have struggled with the idea that instead of this craziness, of dressing like a woman and having to deal with the doubts I have, the social risks, and other attendant lifestyle risks, that I should just “man up” and get help if necessary, but solve my problems in the “normal” way, through personal growth, and addressing the real concerns instead of doing an end-around.
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05
Therapy
It has been a bad week, blog-wise.
First, someone I thought was a friend expressed “sorrow” at my “gender struggle.”
Then, no less than four others responded to my next post with a recommendation that I get therapy, one of them going so far as to liken trying to find one’s way on her own to representing oneself in legal proceedings – invoking the well-known saying that a person who is her own lawyer has a fool for a client.
I also like sayings – and the more appropriate one for today is: if three people tell you you’re drunk, lie down.
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