Dec

19

Transsexual or Crossdresser or What

Politics and Opinion / Transgender Life  Posted by / 27 comments

A recent post at T-Central by Alice, of Alice in Genderland fame and an exchange of comments with other bloggers there led me to start thinking again about the makeup of the trans community and my place in it.0595315623.qxd

My first step was to drop in on Alice’s website and gather more info.  There she answers the question posed in the title to this post, basically, “What’s the difference between a transsexual and a crossdresser?”

If I may bottom-line her multi-paragraph answer, it is: “Not much.”

Her point of view tends to infuriate some (many? most? all?) transsexuals, who see nothing at all in common between themselves and crossdressers.  As one blogger put it:

I don’t see a link between the two. The former loves clothing and other accoutrements that are generally considered to be for women. The latter has a profound brain-body disconnect that requires treatment by hormone therapy and surgery. Crossdressers emulate women. Transsexuals change anatomical sex. How are those related?

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Dec

08

You’ve Come a Long Way, Baby!

Out in the World / Transgender Life  Posted by / 8 comments

(This is the first of what I hope will be more than a few guest posts written by my GF, Emily.)

I have come a long way since I first encountered Janie some four years ago. Of course, Janie has come a long way too.

Although Janie was never hidden from me, and I learned about her at the same time as Janie did herself, I still went through many of the usual trials and tribulations most women go through on learning that her spouse is a crossdresser. Flash forward to the present and I don’t really even think of Janie as a crossdresser now, but rather I think of her as a unique person with many interesting sides, and someone I‘m lucky to share my life with. The best of all worlds in many respects. We have always been the best of friends in addition to lovers, but now I have not only a spouse, a lover, and a boyfriend, but a girlfriend too!

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Dec

03

It’s My Party

Introspection / Transgender Life  Posted by / 3 comments

I was reading the About Me page of my blog, and it seems my perceptions of myself have changed somewhat.

In particular, certain statements now ring false to me (and they have been removed).

…no small part of the pleasure I get out of being womanly comes from the guy inside me quietly observing and enjoying Jane’s exploits from within…

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Nov

30

Curiosity

Out in the World / Transgender Life  Posted by / 4 comments

It’s funny how things work in reverse.

Just the other day, I was remarking about being almost universally perceived as female, even in guy mode.

Well, yesterday, I went shopping as Janie – maybe not full makeup, but lipstick and jewellery and girl clothes – and wouldn’t you know it, I am suddenly an interesting curiosity…

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Nov

28

Girl is as Girl Does

Out in the World / Transgender Life  Posted by / 4 comments

Chicagoans see me as a girl, it seems.

img_8403b1I have yet to break out my girl clothes or makeup, I haven’t taken a razor to my face in almost a week, and yet I have been treated almost exclusively as female, whether in a restaurant, or trying on clothes in a department store, or on the street.

…and that suits me just fine!

Though I had no problem looking through the clothes in the women’s section of a certain department store, I really didn’t have the nerve to ask to be let into the women’s change rooms in my then state of appearance.  But the sales clerk who came by offering assistance referred to me as ma’am, so I thought I’d give it a shot. 

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Nov

20

Walk Like a Man

Introspection / Transgender Life  Posted by / 2 comments

I am finding that the more time I spend as Jane, the more natural it becomes to act like her… and the more effort I have to make to “act” like a boy when I’m him.

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Nov

15

Undercover Girl

Health and Beauty / Out in the World / Transgender Life  Posted by / 3 comments

Getting out of the house without being seen, or at least without outing myself is becoming a major problem in my life these days, as I start to go out regularly during the day.

Today, I was wearing a high-waisted short teal blue denim skirt with sexy white stockings, a blousy white top and black riveted belt.  The look was completed with my lovely Calvin Klein high-heeled boots.

The short, but exposed walk to my car in that outfit was bound to catch someone’s eye – after all, that’s part of the outfit’s appeal, isn’t it?

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Sep

13

Big Easy

Out in the World / Transgender Life  Posted by / 2 comments

After a handful of days in Montreal, it suddenly dawned on me that I don’t have to go all the way to San Diego for a place to be free and easy and Janie.

The realization came to me as I was walking down the street looking for a cafe for our Labor Day morning coffee and breakfast.  I’m out and about, wearing scarcely any makeup, in jeans and a t-shirt, and I am as comfortable as can be.  No one looks at me strangely; no one bothers me.  I am treated with respect and courtesy…

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Aug

31

Past Passing

Introspection / Transgender Life  Posted by / 6 comments

As I was walking around town the other day, I’d take an interest from time to time in whether people noticed that I was not a genetic girl – was I passing?

Trying to be subtle, I could only guess, but I do believe some people “made” me, though no one said or did anything overt.  It is possible it was entirely in my mind.

More interesting, however, was that I started to realize that seeing how well I passed was more of a sport than anything to me; I didn’t really care. 

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Aug

17

Arguing Like a Girl

Introspection / Transgender Life  Posted by / 9 comments

The other day, I found myself in the midst of an argument, trying to explain myself to the other person without any success whatsoever. I was driven almost to tears by my inability to get my point across.  It was unbelievably frustrating to simply not be heard!

Of course I didn’t cry, because that’s not something I am wired to do as a guy (or perhaps I have disconnected the wires).  Rather, my grip on femininity weakened and I reached for the man inside to set things straight.  A louder, more authoritative voice and a more aggressive attitude do wonders for getting people to at least hear you.

But that cop-out made me feel quite awful – like I had betrayed my womanhood in some way.

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