february 2012 issue

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Pretty T Girls
February 2012
The Magazine for the most beautiful girls in the world
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Michelle Williams tied with Bobbie Vance for the February
Cover Girl, however she graciously relinquished her title as
February Cover Girl. Still we honor her with her cover girl
photo here.
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In This Issue
Editorial by: Barbara Jean
A Friend Transitions from MtF
One Teachers Approach to Classroom Bullying
Shaving and Waxing… Down There
Age Proof Your Makeup
10 Gorgeous Women Who Were Born Male
The Exploits of Barbara Marie
Humor
Angels in the Centerfold
TG Tips from Mellissa
Kathy’s Korner
The Adventures of Judy Sometimes
Tammy Chapter 12 (Fiction by Barbara Jean)
T-Girl Racing yahoo group
Fashion Tips from Tasi
Denier Tights
Lucille Sorella
The Gossip Fence
Shop Till You Drop
Calendar
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Education
an Editorial by: Barbara Jean
Education, it’s important. For people to understand us we have to
educate them. Now before we can educate the public, we need to
educate ourselves, to know as much about why we feel we are actually
members of the opposite sex trapped in a wrong body or why we
simply like to dress as members of the opposite sex.
Now, I think in educating others the first thing we need to do is educate
them as to what transgenderism is NOT.
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2.
3.
Transgenderism is NOT the same as Transsexualism
Transgenderism is NOT a sexual orientation
Sex and gender are NOT the same thing.
In the past we have worked at educating the adult community. We speak at colleges and universities mostly to psychology and sociology classes; we may speak to police, to the GLB
community, and to other individuals that we may personally know. We work to educate
businesses about us and how we are to be treated by them.
But as I read the news articles for our community it seems that we are coming out at much
younger ages then in the past. Preschool kids are coming out, elementary school kids are
coming out as transgendered. Now, for most of us to have come out at that age would have
probably meant a trip to the woodshed or at best the shrink. (For some of us the woodshed
might have been preferred.)
In schools bullying has always been going on, but in the last few years it has been in the news.
Is the prime reason for bullying any different today than it was when we were kids? I think the
answer is no. The kid being bullied is different from the rest of the kids. In the past it might
have been because of a learning disability or a physical disability while today it is because they
are or at least are perceived as being gay or transgendered.
We need to get into educating the kids, educate them at an early age. But, of course, parents are
always a roadblock. Parents have always tried to fight any form of sex education in the schools,
and today they are fighting to stop the education of kids on homosexuality and transgenderism.
So, how are we to get the education into the school system? The first thing we need to do is to
educate the parents. Let them know what transgenderism is and what it is not. We need to talk
at PTA/PTO meetings. By getting the parents educated then there will be less resistance to our
ability to educate the kids.
Educate ourselves, then educate the adults, then educate the kids. That is the order that we have
to do it.
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" A Friends Transition from M2F"
BY
BARBARA MARIE DAVIDSON
When I first met “Toni” (aka Tom) about 4 years ago, she was a newbee just coming out
of the closet. In fact, she had never been out of the house until she came to one of our
TriEss meetings. Before the weekend was done we had taken her shopping, out to eat, had
a makeover as well as other things all the while she was dressed en femme. She really had
a ball. She kept coming back each month and got bolder and bolder in her feminine persona. She was afraid to go out in her hometown. However, that began to change as she
began to make friends in the TG community. She also began to venture out more and
more in the Birmingham area with the TG community there as well.
It wasn’t long until she began to feel more comfortable in her feminine persona. After
about two years with our group, she began to “fall away”. This was a sign that she was
beginning to out grow our group as she had made friends in the TG community that were
both pre and post-op M2F transsexuals. At 52 years of age, she made a decision that she
wanted to head down the path for GRS surgery. About a year ago she started HRT and
also had FFS surgery (done in Texas by Dr Peter Raphael). She began living her life as
“Toni” only being Tom at work. Thus she was now 75/25. About five or six months ago,
she made her decision to have her surgery. All of her family know and have accepted
“Toni”, save for her oldest son who is not pleased at all with “Toni”. In fact, he does not
know about the surgery yet. At work only a few folks who are on a need to know basis,
knows about “Toni” and her up coming surgery. She asked me to go with her and be
there with her when she had her surgery. I told her yes. She also had a close friend like us
who is a doctor and she will also be there for the first several days post-op. “Toni” will be
in good hands during her recovery.
We all arrived in Dallas with in an hour of each other, rented a car and went to the hotel
recommended by the surgical clinic. Our room was very nice as it had 2 double beds and
a sleeper sofa. It also had a full kitchen. “Toni” had her pre -op evaluation on Monday
morning after which we went to a French restaurant for lunch. However, she could only
have a liquid diet, as it was part of her “bowel prep”. Tuesday morning we were at the
clinic at 0900. About 15 minutes later, they took her back and got her ready for surgery.
“Melissa” and I were with her during this time. About 0955, they took her to the OR and
we decided to go get something to eat. We got back at 1300 and the “New” Toni arrived in
the Recovery Room about 15 minutes later. About four PM we were able to take her
back to the hotel. As we were leaving, the wife of one of the patients in the recovery room
stopped us. Her husband had the same surgery as “Toni’s” on the 1st of December. It
comes to find out that they are staying at the same hotel as us on the same floor about 4
rooms down from us. She and “Christine” have been together for 21 years and married
for the last 12. Now there are the best of girl friends and have no plans for divorcing.
There was also another post-op patient at the same hotel. Friday, there will be another
one. Normally the clinic provides a nurse for the first post op night at the hotel, but because “Toni” was a special case as she brought her own qualified “medical staff” with her,
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they made an exception. Terri (RN) did stop by before she left the hotel on Wednesday to
check on Teresa. She said that every thing looked good and that we were doing all the
right things. Supplies for the dressings changes should include, 4x4 sponges, chux, Neosporin ointment, hydrogen peroxide, mixed half and half with water, a “peri bottle” for
irrigation, and a supply of disposable feminine diapers, as well as a box of disposable
gloves. The peri bottle may be purchased at Sally’s beauty supply, as it is nothing more
that a plastic bottle with an angled tip for applying hair color. They are about $1.00 each.
The surgery clinic normally will give you enough for at least 2 changes and that is it. One
also needs to keep track of the vital signs for the first several days as well as the urine output and the amount of drainage noted, (moderate or scant).
I will say that during the first 18 hours, we had to change her dressings at least 5 or 6
times as there was a moderate amount of bleeding noted. While Terri was here the bleeding had slowed considerably to a scant amount, but there was a fair amount of bruising.
She said that was normal. “Toni’s” I&O has been good as well as her vital signs. She has
only taken her pain meds three times. At other times, she took Tylenol. She is in good
spirits and looking forward to getting back to her life. I must admit, having known that
she was a guy yesterday and a “girl” today, in a few weeks when the bruising is gone and
she look more “presentable”, she will look like any other female. We go back to the clinic
on the 13th for her catheter removal and to learn about the dilation that she will be doing
to keep herself open.
Not to be a namedropper, but The American Institute of Plastic surgery located in Plano,
Texas, has a good M2F plastic surgeon, Dr Peter Raphael. He did his training for SRS
under Dr Michael Leiss in Philadelphia. Dr Raphael does Facial Feminization Surgery,
breast augmentations, lipo suction as well as other plastic surgeries geared to the M2F patients. He is currently taking on a few F2M patients, doing their SRS as well. According
to “Toni”, he is still reasonable as compared to other plastic surgeons.
As to the surgery, after the patient is asleep, they are put in stirrups, prepped and draped.
The scrotal sack is removed and set on the “back” table where it is denuded of all fat and
shaped for later use to create the “labia” as well as the vestibule (perineum between the
vagional opening and the anus). The testicles are removed and sent to the lab per routine
protocol. The attention is then turned to the penis as the skin is removed and placed on a
dilator. The tissue is sewn together about the dilator to form the vaginal canal. The nerve
and blood supply along with the glands penis is the dissected away from the shaft of the
penis as well as the urethra. The tissue from the penis is then discarded. An incision is
then made into the urethra and the Foley catheter is inserted. The remaining part of the
urethra is then discarded. The urethra is then sewn into a more normal position for a female. (The normal female urethra is usually about 3 inches in length.) The glands and its
supporting tissue are then placed into a position as a clitoris similar to that of the normal
female. The vaginal “tube” is then inserted and sewn into place. The “scrotal” skin is then
sewn in to place to create the “Labia” as well as the perineum. The final result is a potentially normal appearing female look. “Vaginal” packing is then inserted to not only put
some pressure in that area, but to also prevent the area from closing. 4x4’s and peri pads
complete the dressing to the area. The Foley becomes a constant companion for about a
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a week. At the post op visit a week later, the Foley as well as the packing is removed. The
patient is then taught how to use the dilators on herself in order to keep the vagional canal
open until complete healing has occurred. After several months post operatively, the patient is ready for “sexual contact” of her choice. The procedure normally takes about 3
hours including anesthesia time. The above notation of this paragraph is only a quick synopsis of the surgery. Some techniques are slightly different but the results are the same –
a normal appearing female below the waist.
My friend “Toni” is quite happy with the decision she has made about her life. She will
have to continue to live a 75/25 life until June of 2012. At that time she will have done all
the necessary paperwork showing her change: DL, other ID’s, passport, social security
and other pertinent documentation necessary. Also, she has laid all of the groundwork to
“make the transition at work”. However, since she teaches classes, she will come out between semesters. Thus, the current class only knows “Tom”. The new classes in June will
have no clue whom “Tom” was and will only know “Toni”.
Although I am a retired Operating Room nurse, and a non pre op M2F Transgendered
person (24/7 for over 2 years now), “Toni”, whom I have know for almost 4 years, is the
first M2F transsexual who I watched grow from a timid cross dresser, almost afraid of her
own shadow, to a very self confidant post op “female” Her new birthday is December 6 th
2011 although her chronological age is 52.
Barbara Marie Davidson
Some footnotes from Barbara
Toni retired after 24 years in the AF. She works for the government in Alabama and teaches
classes on a military base. Her immediate supervisors know about her transition, as do several
of her close workers. However, it was decided to for her not to show up to work as Toni until
the current group of students she teaches graduates in June, as they know Tom. She will come
out as Toni at that time, thus as I said, the new students will not know who Ted was but will
only know Toni. She had all of the supporting documentation required for her SRS. Benjamin's
guidelines state they must work and live in your desired sex for 1 year. However, it is not totally written in stone.. Toni has been 75/25 for over a year. Her surgeon, Dr. Peter Raphael, is
a member of the American Institute for Plastic Surgery located at 6020 West Plano Parkway,
Plano, TX 75093 tele 972-543-2469. He specializes in SRS surgery and anything connected
with it. He accepted the recommendations from Toni’s doctors concerning SRS surgery. Here
is his web site Plastic Surgery, American Institute for - Plano, TX, 75093
This is a factual story, and yet not. I wanted to go into the OR as I am a OR nurse but
was not allowed, so, I took notes as Dr. Raphael was explaining things again on what
would happen and how they did things. Based on my knowledge as an OR nurse, I used
the notes taken to write my story. Toni basically agreed with every thing I described in
the narrative concerning the actual surgery. The clinic is located about 4 miles from the
hotel (the Staybridge Suites) and sends many of their patients there for recovery, even
though the out patient center has been certified for over night recovery (23 hours). They
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normally provide a nurse for the first night at the hotel. However, since Melissa and I
were with Toni, It saved Teresa $500 for the nurse. Including Toni, there are 2 other post
op patients here as well, one of which had SRS a week ago. There will be another one
here on Friday.
One teachers approach to preventing gender
bullying in a classroom
“It’s Okay to be Neither,” By Melissa Bollow Tempel
Alie arrived at our 1st- grade classroom wearing a sweatshirt with a
hood. I asked her to take off her hood, and she refused. I thought she
was just being difficult and ignored it. After breakfast we got in line
for art, and I noticed that she still had not removed her hood. When
we arrived at the art room, I said: “Allie, I’m not playing. It’s time for
art. The rule is no hoods or hats in school.”
She looked up with tears in her eyes and I realized there was something wrong. Her classmates
went into the art room and we moved to the art storage area so her classmates wouldn’t hear our
conversation. I softened my tone and asked her if she’d like to tell me what was wrong.
“My ponytail,” she cried.
“Can I see?” I asked.
She nodded and pulled down her hood. Allie’s braids had come undone overnight and there
hadn’t been time to redo them in the morning, so they had to be put back in a ponytail. It was
high up on the back of her head like those of many girls in our class, but I could see that to Allie
it just felt wrong. With Allie’s permission, I took the elastic out and re-braided her hair so it
could hang down.
“How’s that?” I asked.
She smiled. “Good,” she said and skipped off to join her friends in art.
‘Why Do You Look Like a Boy?’
Allison was biologically a girl but felt more comfortable wearing Tony Hawk long-sleeved Tshirts, baggy jeans, and black tennis shoes. Her parents were accepting and supportive. Her
mother braided her hair in cornrows because Allie thought it made her look like Will Smith’s
son, Trey, in the remake of The Karate Kid. She preferred to be called Allie. The first day of
school, children who hadn’t been in Allie’s class in kindergarten referred to her as “he.”
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I didn’t want to assume I knew how Allie wanted me to respond to the continual gender mistakes, so I made a phone call home and Allie’s mom put me on speakerphone.
“Allie,” she said, “Ms. Melissa is on the phone. She would like to know if you want her to correct your classmates when they say you are a boy, or if you would rather that she just doesn’t
say anything.”
Allie was shy on the phone. “Um …
tell them that I am a girl,” she whispered.
The next day when I corrected classmates and told them that Allie was a girl, they asked her a
lot of questions that she wasn’t prepared for: “Why do you look like a boy?” “If you’re a girl,
why do you always wear boys’ clothes?” Some even told her that she wasn’t supposed to wear
boys’ clothes if she was a girl. It became evident that I would have to address gender directly in
order to make the classroom environment more comfortable for Allie and to squash the gender
stereotypes that my 1st graders had absorbed in their short lives.
Gender Training Starts Early
Gender is not a subject that I would have broached in primary grades a few years ago. In fact, I
remember scoffing with colleagues when we heard about a young kindergarten teacher who
taught gender-related curriculum. We thought her lessons were a waste of instructional time and
laughed at her “girl and boy” lessons.
My own thoughts about gender curriculum shifted when I became a mother. As I shopped for
infant clothes for my first daughter, I was disgusted that almost everything was pink and there
was no mistaking the boys’ section of the store from the girls’. I refused to make my baby
daughter fit in the box that society had created for her. “What if she doesn’t like pink?” I
thought. “What if she likes tigers and dinosaurs?”
As my two daughters grew, I talked with them about gender stereotypes. I let them choose
“boys’” clothes if they wanted to (and often encouraged them because they are more practical).
The first week of kindergarten, my younger daughter’s teacher told me that she had a heated
argument with a boy while they played dress up. “She insisted that boys can wear dresses if
they want to,” the teacher told me. I beamed with pride.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t until I had a child dealing with gender variance (defined as “behavior
or gender expression that does not conform to dominant gender norms of male and female”) in
my classroom that I realized how important it is to teach about gender and break down gender
stereotypes. Why did I wait so long? I should have taken a hint from that kindergarten teacher
years ago. As I thought about how to approach the topic, I realized that the lessons I was developing weren’t just for Allie. She had sparked my thinking, but all the children in my class
needed to learn to think critically about gender stereotypes and gender nonconformity.
We started off with a lesson about toys because it’s a simple topic I knew my students thought
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they had clear ideas about. The class gathered on the carpet and I read William’s Doll, which is
about a boy who, against the wishes of his father, wants a doll more than anything.
After we read the story, I taped up two large pieces of paper and wrote “Boys” on one and
“Girls” on the other. “Students,” I said, “what are some toys that are for boys?” Eagerly, the
students began to shout out their answers: “Legos!” “Hot Wheels!” “Skateboards!” “Bikes!”
The list grew quite long. “OK,” I said, “now tell me some toys that are for girls.” “Baby dolls!”
“Nail polish!” “Barbies!” “Makeup!”
When we had two extensive lists, I read both lists out loud to the class and then studied them
carefully.
“Hmm,” I said. “Here it says that Legos are for boys. Can girls play with Legos?”
“Yes!” most of them replied without hesitation.
“I wonder if any of the girls in our class like to play with Hot Wheels?”
“I do! I do!” blurted out some of the girls. We continued with the rest of the items on our
“Boys” list, making a check mark next to each one as it was declared acceptable for girls.
Then we went on to the “Girls” list. We started with baby dolls. Because we had just read and
discussed William’s Doll, the children were OK with boys playing with dolls. “It’s great practice for boys who want to be daddies when they grow up,” I mentioned.
But when we got to nail polish and makeup the children were unsure. “There are some very famous rock ’n’ roll bands,” I said, “and the men in those bands wear a lot of makeup.” Some of
the children gasped.
Then Isabela raised her hand: “Sometimes my uncle wears black nail polish.” The students took
a moment to think about this.
“My cousin wears nail polish, too!” said another student. Soon many students were eager to
share examples of how people pushed the limits on gender. Our school engineer, Ms. Joan,
drove a motorcycle. Jeremy liked to dance. I could see the gears turning in their brains as the
gender lines started to blur.
Supporting Gender Variance Every Day
I knew that broadening my students’ ideas of what was acceptable for boys and girls was an important first step, but to make Allie feel comfortable and proud of herself, I was going to have
to go further.
For example, as teachers, we often use gender to divide students into groups or teams. It seems
easy and obvious. Many of us do this when we line students up to go to the bathroom. In one
conversation that I had with Allie’s mother, she told me that Allie did not like using public
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bathrooms because many times Allie would be accused of being in the wrong bathroom. As
soon as she told me I felt bad. By dividing the children into two lines by assigned gender, I had
unintentionally made the children whose labels aren’t so clear feel uncomfortable in more ways
than one.
When we lined up to go to the bathroom, I kept my students in one line until we reached the
bathroom, and then let them separate to enter their bathrooms. Allie usually said she didn’t need
to use the bathroom. The few times that she did, I offered the bathroom around the corner, a single-stall bathroom that was usually unoccupied. When the kids came out of the bathroom, they
wanted to line up as most classrooms do, in boys’ and girls’ lines. Instead, I thought up a new
way for them to line up each day. For example: “If you like popsicles, line up here. If you like
ice cream, line up here.” They loved this and it kept them entertained while they waited for their
classmates. Here are a few more examples:
Which would you choose?
Skateboard/Bike
Milk/Juice
Dogs/Cats
Hot day/Snow day
Fiction/Nonfiction
Soccer/Basketball
Beach/Pool
I also became very aware of using the phrase “boys and girls” to address my students. Instead, I
used gender-neutral terms like “students” or “children.” At first, the more I thought about it, the
more often I’d say “boys and girls.” I tried not to be too hard on myself when I slipped, and
eventually I got out of the habit and used “students” regularly.
Around the same time, another child’s mother told me that her son had been taunted for wearing
a Hello Kitty Band-Aid. She mentioned that his sister was also teased at school for having a
lunch bag with skulls on it. I planned more lessons to combat gender stereotypes in our classroom.
‘It’s OK to Be Different’
In order to deepen our discussion of gender, I selected another read-aloud. Before we read, I
asked my students: “I would like to know—how many of you like to dance?” Most raised their
hands.
“How many of you have been told you can’t do something because it was ‘only for boys’ or
‘only for girls’?” Many hands went up.
Then I read Oliver Button Is a Sissy. In the book, Oliver is bullied because he prefers dancing
to sports. The students quickly realized that this was not fair and empathized with Oliver Button.
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The following day we read It’s Okay to Be Different by Todd Parr.
Parr’s books are quite popular in the primary grades because they include an element of humor and simple, colorful illustrations. We read:
It’s OK to wear glasses.
It’s OK to come from a different place.
It’s OK to be a different color.
As we read, I asked questions to empower the students: “Who used to
live in a different place?” Students proudly held up their hands.
“Awesome!” I replied. “My mom comes from a different place, too.
She used to live in Hong Kong.”
Then I guided the direction of the conversation toward gender. As a class, we brainstormed a
list of things that students thought were “OK” even though they might challenge society’s gender norms. Monica told us very matter-of-factly, “It’s OK for a girl to marry a girl,” and Jordan
said, “My dad carries a purse and that’s OK!” At that point I explained that my father and my
friend Wayne both call their man purse a “murse.” The children were fascinated.
Shaving & waxing "down there"
from Cyndis Circle
Hygiene may be the least vain justification for ripping hairs off of your mons pubis, but it's not
doctor recommended. Since getting Brazilian bikini waxes, which remove the entire patch of
pubic hair from ones vagina, is an unnatural thing to do, women cite various reasons for the
painful and expensive practice, as Ashley Fetters explains in her lengthy piece on the phenomenon over at The Atlantic. 60 percent of American women between 18 and 24 are sometimes or
always completely bare down there not just because it's sexy, or the porn stars made it cool, or
cultural non-acceptance of body hair, but because it's cleaner. "I work out a lot. I get sweaty,"
regular waxer Sophia Pinto told Fetters. "And it starts to smell when you've got hair down
there. So yeah, it hurts, but I just feel so much cleaner." But is it really cleaner?
There's a difference between odor and cleanliness. Pinto and the like are referring to the at
times unpleasant aroma of ones nether regions. But a smelly vagina doesn't mean a dirty vagina.
In fact, The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists say that a clean vagina will
have a mild stench, which is a why they do not recommend douching.
As for hygiene, Dr. Emily Gibson argues over at the medical blog KevinMD that this type of
hair removal opens up female genitalia to all sorts of nasty sounding infections.
Pubic hair removal naturally irritates and inflames the hair follicles left behind, leaving microscopic open wounds. Rather than suffering a comparison to a bristle brush, frequent hair removal is necessary to stay smooth, causing regular irritation of the shaved or waxed area. When
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that irritation is combined with the warm moist environment of the genitals, it becomes a happy
culture media for some of the nastiest of bacterial pathogens, namely group A streptococcus,
staphylococcus aureus and its recently mutated cousin methicillin resistant staph aureus
(MRSA). There is an increase in staph boils and abscesses, necessitating incisions to drain the
infection, resulting in scarring that can be significant. It is not at all unusual to find pustules and
other hair follicle inflammation papules on shaved genitals.
Not to mention, greater vulnerability to herpes and other STIs, cellulitis, and abrasions -- all just
from waxing. There can also be more extreme complications. One diabetic woman went to the
hospital with herpes and a bacterial infection after a Brazilian, leading researchers to believe
that women with weak immune systems open the body up to greater chance of infection after a
wax
Scientists don't actually know why humans have hair down there in the first place, according to
Fetters. "Some think it's to help trap pheromones, which connects us subconsciously to people
we're attracted to; others, meanwhile, think it's simply there to keep our precious cargo warm
enough for successful reproduction," she writes. But it's clearly not like the spleen: We need it
Age-Proof Your Makeup
WebMD Feature from "Good Housekeeping" Magazine
By Leesa Suzman
Dozens of expert tips plus product picks to take years
off your face -- instantly.
At last you've reached a point in your life when some
things are certain: Listening to Beatles music will definitely lift your spirits; wearing the color blue will get you
compliments; your husband will surely forget to pick up
his dirty socks; and you will always feel prettier when you slick on your favorite poppy-red lipstick. Or so you thought. "As your facial features evolve, so should your makeup," says makeup
artist Laura Geller, founder of the Laura Geller Beauty Ingenuity cosmetics line. "Once you hit
your 40s, moisture and collagen levels go down and skin tone can become uneven, sallow, or
red." As a result, the same colors and textures that were flattering at 35 may be aging you a decade later. And what works in your 40s may not in your 50s or 60s. What should you try instead?
We asked beauty pros for their best no-fuss, turn-back-the-clock tricks and product picks.
Skin
1. Start Fresh
You notice: Your complexion looks duller, and the tone is uneven. The reason: Skin no
longer sheds dead cells as quickly as it used to. "It's like having 10 layers of paint under
your makeup," says New York City dermatologist Ellen Marmur, M.D., author of Simple
Skin Beauty.
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Key moves: Makeup takes better to freshly scrubbed, moisturized skin.
"The colors and textures will always look more flattering on a smooth
canvas," says makeup artist Jillian Dempsey, global creative director
for Avon. To speed up cell turnover, keep a gentle exfoliator, such as
Aveeno Positively Ageless Warming Scrub ($9, drugstores), in the
shower. Or turn your favorite face cleanser into a scrub by mixing it
with a teaspoon of baking soda, suggests celebrity makeup artist Brett
Freedman. Follow moisturizer with a silicone-based foundation primer,
which can smooth any surface unevenness so you'll need less makeup.
Primer also gives makeup more staying power. Try Pixi Flawless
Beauty Primer ($29, target.com).
2. Ace Your Base
You notice: Foundations and powders pool in the crevices, highlighting the wrinkles and large pores you're hoping to conceal.
Key moves: Look for a foundation with a touch of silicone (if you're not applying primer first).
Try Smashbox High Definition Healthy FX Foundation SPF 15 ($38, sephora.com). "The silicone helps it move with skin and sit on top of fine lines," says Freedman. Apply foundation
with a damp sponge, and press gently to keep it from sinking into creases, Dempsey advises.
Use wrinkle-filling concealer on any still-bothersome lines. Try Avon Anew Wrinkle Zone Line
Smoothing Duo ($12, avon.com), which pairs a lightweight concealer with a separate loose
powder you dab on to hold the coverage in place.
Eyes
3. Master Disguise
You notice: When you use enough concealer to cover up dark circles and puffiness, you end up looking like an owl.
Key moves: Apply foundation before concealer to mute dark circles and puffiness. "Foundation is less opaque than concealer and
gives more uniform coverage," says Geller. Afterward, lightly dot a
skin-matching concealer where you still see discoloration. It will
blend in more easily over the base. Try E.L.F. Corrective Concealer
($3, eyeslipsface.com), a set of four mix-and-match colors that lets
you create the exact shade you need.
4. Pencil It In
You notice: Due to looser skin, your once- flawless liner application now looks like an EKG tracing above your lashes.
Key moves: Line your top lids using a soft — but not too soft — pencil that won't tug at skin.
Try Benefit Automatic Eyeliner Duo Pencil in Downtown Brown ($20, sephora.com). Or, wet
the bristles of a liner brush and dip it into shadow. Then give a little tautness to the lid by gently
pulling the corners back toward the temples, says Carmindy, a makeup artist and the creator of
Sally Hansen Natural Beauty. Apply the liner in little dashes across the upper lashes, then connect the line with a smudger, cotton swab, or brush. Avoid thick bands of liner; they close up
the eye area. "The tighter the liner hugs your lashes, the more bright-eyed you will look," says
Geller.
5. Play with Shadow
You notice: Eye shadow disappears into your lid folds by midday, forming unflattering creases
15
and exposing discoloration.
Key moves: Lid primer can even out the surface and lock in shadow. Consider one of the new
two- in-one shadow-plus-base options, such as Too Faced Lock Down Ultimate Creaseless
Cream Eye Shadow in Bedroom Eyes ($18.50, "http://www.sephora.com"), or buy a separate
primer that goes under your favorite formula. Your shadow color should relate to your skin
tone: Beige, taupe, and ivory are all good options once you hit your 40s. Neutrals with subtle —
repeat, subtle — luminescence, such as Mark Making Eyes Eyeshadow Duo in Down to Earth
($6, meetmark.com) will have the most eye-brightening effect. Sweep the color up to the
crease; you can always add more depth by placing a deeper shade directly in the crease.
6. Get Fringe Benefits
You notice: Putting thickening mascara on thinning lashes makes you look a little too Tammy
Faye — not the effect you're after.
Key moves: Once you hit your 40s, you want your mascara to be more lengthening than
volumizing, says makeup artist Sandy Linter, Lancôme's Beauty at Every Age expert; heavy,
clumpy lashes are not youthful. Choose a formula that's also water-resistant to keep mascara
from smudging and flaking. One splurge that delivers a flawless fringe: Lancôme Ôscillation
Water-Resistant Mascara ($34, department stores). Mimic its battery-powered lash- lengthening
and defining tricks by pressing your own mascara wand against the base of your lashes for a
few extra seconds, then jiggling the brush back and forth as you draw it out to the tips. And always curl lashes first. "I'm shocked how many women don't take advantage of this eye-opening,
younger- in-a-snap tool," says Freedman.
7. Support Your Arches
You notice: Your brow hairs are getting more sparse. "If you've been waxing your brows for
years, the hairs may have simply stopped growing back," says Dr. Marmur.
Key moves: Counter thinning brows by shading them with a powder or sheer pencil one notch
lighter than the hair (note: light blond or white arches should be made a touch darker instead).
Try Mally Brow Beauty Brow Fix in Taupe ($25, qvc.com), a self-sharpening pencil infused
with polymers that create volume and tame brows. But use pencils and powders sparingly:
"You want to add definition to your features, but not that aging 'filled-in' look," notes Freedman.
8. Blush Easily
You notice: You brush on blush, as usual, to put natural- looking color in your cheeks — and
end up with clownish streaks instead.
Key moves: Switch from a powder to a translucent cream blush to give you that lit- from- within
effect. Opt for fresh pinks and peaches that restore your natural glow. They're often more sheer
going on than they look in the package. Try CoverGirl & Olay Simply Ageless Sculpting Blush
in Lush Berry ($11, drugstores). "Anything see-through that blends into your skin is more
youthful," says Carmindy. To avoid streaks, Dempsey suggests placing a dot of creamy color in
the center of the apple of each cheek, then moving it in a circular motion with your fingers until
it looks like a healthy flush.
9. Learn Your Lines
You notice: The etchings on and around your mouth grab your lipstick color, turning your
smile into an aging hot spot.
16
Key moves: Matching your liner to your lipstick is the old-school approach — and it can age you. Colored pencils sometimes leave a telltale
ring of liner after your lipstick is long gone. A more youthful approach:
Define your lips with a clear or nude liner that's the same shade as your
lips. Apply it around the perimeter, or over the entire mouth to fill lines.
You'll get a slightly fuller effect by carefully placing the liner along the
outermost border of your lips. Try Rimmel London Exaggerate Full Colour
Lip Liner Definer in Natural ($6, drugstores).
10. Cue in to Color
You notice: Dark lipstick looks too severe because it emphasizes lessthan-full lips.
Key moves: If you still crave color, bright lipsticks are a better option than dark ones, which
can spotlight thinning lips. "A rose-colored lipstick is flattering for women over 40," says
Dempsey. Dab shimmer on top for a fuller look. You also can't go wrong with natural pinks and
berries; they mimic the color of your lips when you were younger. Choose shiny or satiny finishes instead of mattes, which sink into lines. Try Clinique Vitamin C Lip Smoothie Antioxidant Lip Colour in Pink Me Up, Mango-thon, or Raisin the Bar ($17.50, department stores).
Makeup by the Decades
Makeup in Your 40s
Beauty icon: Brooke Shields
Toss: Anything with chunky glitter
Keep: Lengthening mascara
Try: Boots Soothing & Calming Eye Base ($9, Target)
Makeup in Your 50s
Beauty icon: Kim Cattrall
Toss: Harsh eye and lip liners
Keep: Rosy blush
Try: Victoria's Secret VS Makeup Soft Focus Liquid Foundation SPF 20 ($16, Victoria's Secret)
Makeup in Your 60s (and Up)
Beauty icon: Lauren Hutton
Toss: Chalky, drying face powder
Keep: Shimmery eye shadow
Try: L'Oréal Paris Colour Riche Anti- Aging Serum Lipcolour in Spicy Pink ($10, drugstores)
17
10 Gorgeous Women (Who Were Born Male)
Many people don't realize that transsexual models are popping up in magazines
and on runways everywhere. These gorgeous models look and feel like women
but were born with male reproductive organs. If we didn't know, we definitely
wouldn't be able to tell that they weren't born female! Could you?
Andrej Pejic
Serbian Australian model Andrej
Pejic is androgynous and famous
for his ability to model both
male and female clothing. In
January 2011's Paris fashion
shows he walked both the men's
and women's shows for JeanPaul Gaultier and the men's
shows for Marc Jacobs. He has
also ranked #18 on
the models.comTop 50 Male
Models list while simultaneously being ranked #98 in FHM's "100 Sexiest
Women in the World 2011."
Lea T.
Brazilian Lea T. was born Leandro Cerezo in 1981,
but that didn't stop her from becoming one of the
most famous transsexual fashion models in the industry today. Lea has beencalled the muse of high fashion design house Givenchy.
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Claudia Charriez
Hard to believe that Claudia Charriez was born a
man, right? Her transsexuality has not stopped her
from becoming an international model. Charriez
was kicked off of America's NextTop Model and
The Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency TV shows
in 2008, but went on to win the America's Next
Top Transsexual Model contest on The
Tyra Banks Show later that year.
Isis King
Born Darrell Walls in 1985, American model
Isis King gained notoriety when she became the
first transgender contestant ever to appear on
the modeling reality show America's Next Top
Model. King competed on two seasons of the
show.
Florencia De La V
Argentinian Florencia De La V began life
in 1976 as Roberto Carlos Trinidad, but she
has since gone on to be one of the most recognizable transgendered actresses in the
world. De La V has appeared on soap operas, in magazines, in clubs, and was once
the editor of a magazine. She is currently
married to a man and the mother to twin
babies conceived via surrogate.
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Sirapassorn Atthayakorn
Thailand's own Sirapassorn (AKA Sammy) Atthayakorn was named Miss International
Queen in 2011's pageant.
Chamila Asanka
Sri Lankan model Chamila (AKA Chami) Asanka
is an up-and-comer in the world fashion industry.
She was also a 2011 contestant in the Miss International Queen pageant.
Caroline "Tula" Cossey
Caroline "Tula" Cossey (nee Barry Kenneth
Cossey) is an English model who is one of the
best-known trans women in the world. Cossey
had a small role in the
James Bond movie TheLiving Daylights, posed
for Playboy, and wrote an autobiography about
her experiences as a transsexual model and actress called "I Am A Woman."
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Roberta Close
Brazilian model Roberta Close was the
first pre-operative transsexual model to
pose for the Brazilian edition of Playboy magazine. After undergoing gender
reassignment surgery in 1989, Close
posed nude for a Brazilian men's magazine calledSexy and was then voted
"Most Beautiful Woman in Brazil."
Malika
ndia's Malika is a trans
woman who has undergone foursurgeries and
countless other medical
procedures to become the
woman she feels she was
meant to be at birth. In
2011 she became the first
Indian to be chosen to compete in the annual Miss International Queen competition in Thailand, a beauty pageant for transgendered people.
21
The Exploits of Barbara Marie
HAPPY NEW YEAR 2012
FROM
BARBARA MARIE
I hope that every one had a very nice Christmas and that Santa was good to you. I also
hope that every one had a safe and joyous New Year as well. During our last few days in
Plano, Texas, Teresa and I went to see the new Mission Impossible movie, after which we
strolled one of the big malls in the area. The ‘ladies’ did not buy anything but we had a
great time looking. Sunday we decided we wanted to go to a Christmas program and
found one on line about 10 minutes from the hotel. When we got there we found out that
one needed tickets, as it was a Christmas program given by the Plano Symphony orchestra and chorus. Thus, Theresa bought her ticket. Being the “Scots” woman I am, I asked
if they gave military or senior citizen discounts and got the preverbal NO we don’t. However, some one had just turned in a ticket they could not use with instructions to give it to
a “military person”. I showed the lady my retired military ID card and got in free.
Teresa sat on one side of the church and I sat on the other side next to the couple that had
donated the ticket. Of course I thanked them for it. Never let on as to my true gender.
The gentleman sitting on Teresa’s left was a composer and had written a piece of Christmas music which was played in public for the first time that afternoon. It was a great experience, not only for us but also for every one, as the concert lasted for 2 hours. After the
concert, we went to Starbucks, where we met Jamy who was another post op M2F from
about a year ago. In the two weeks we were there, we met 5 M2F and 1 F2M individuals.
Monday, we were back at the doctor’s office, where Teresa got her “green light’ to go
home on Tuesday as everything looked good, plus she got some last minute instructions
from Dr Raphael. Before leaving, she scheduled herself for an augmentation in July. We
went back to the hotel, washed clothes and packed our bags for the trip home on Tuesday.
My flight left at 1 pm and hers left at 4 pm. As in the past, I had no problem flying en
femme. I almost missed my flight, however, as they changed the gate number and I did
not find out until about 15 minutes before the plane was to leave. (Apparently the airport
is so huge, that the changing of the gates happens frequently and I did not see a notification posted anywhere; I just had to ask someone.) For the next few days, it was spending
time at the nail shop and getting ready for Christmas. I sold on average $800.00 a day in
gift certificates after I got back. Christmas Eve, my son, his girlfriend, and I went to Savannah for dinner with my other son ands his wife, and children. My “grandchildren”
only know me in my feminine mode thus it is not a problem for them. Christmas Day, my
son’s girl friend, her mom, and the children came over for dinner and to open presents. I
received a very nice pair of black Calvin Kline slacks and a red top. I also received an oriental pajama set with a beautiful design. The bill of fare for the evening was roast beef,
22
rice and gravy, mash potatoes, green beans and lime pie for desert. I did get to talk to my
grandchildren in Albany, GA. But I am still not allowed to see them. My daughter finally
sent (texted) me two photos of my grandkids opening their Christmas gifts. These were
the first photos she has sent me in over 20 months.
For the next few days, it was business as usual at the salon with a number of ladies and a
few gentlemen taking advantage of their gift certificates. Also, my friend Teresa called
from Alabama to let me know that it only took three working days for her legal name
change from Ted to Teresa to come through. (FYI, if you live in Georgia, you have to go
online to Legal Name Change forms for Georgia and fill it out. The cost is about $39.00.
Then you have to take the completed form to the clerk of Court, where the filling fee is
$205.00, in some counties. For the next four weeks, it has to be run in the local newspaper
at $20.00 a week. After that you are given a court date to go before the judge who will either approve or disapprove your request. As a result, it takes about five to six weeks to do
a name change at a cost of about $320.00. However, that cost depends on the county. In
Cobb County, it is only about $230.00 whereas in Bulloch it is about $300.00).
New Year’s Eve, we wound up closing the Nail Salon at 6 PM due to the lack of customers.
Several of the workers took off for Atlanta. Diane and I took off for her sister-in-law’s
home in Springfield, GA for a New Years Eve bowl of Beef and Noodle soup (PHO), fresh
fruit, and banana fritters. Tom, her husband, went to Savannah where he went out on the
gambling boat for the evening. We had a great meal and were home by 12:30 am. He did
not get home until 5 am but he was $1600.00 to the good. New Year’s Day, Tom and I
went to Savannah to look at a second car for him, while Diane and several friends spent
the day at the mall.
Wednesday found me headed to Akien, SC for my doctor’s appointment. I was wearing
brown slacks, brown heels and a brown, gray and white v-neck sweater. It is a little over
2 hours from my house to his office. Dr Roberts has about two-dozen Transgendered patients including one F2M. I had a quick check up, got my new scripts for my meds and an
order for some labs to be done here in Statesboro. Because of his TG patients, I left him a
copy of an article I wrote last month on a friends Transition for Male to Female, in case
any of them were interested in reading it. I see my regular family doctor next week. Also,
I am diabetic and my blood sugar has been running well until about a week ago and now
it is bouncing all over the place. Thus, I need it stabilized. Thursday, I was wearing black
jeans and boots with a yellow sweater top when I arrived at the hospital to have my labs
drawn. I was treated like any other lady there, although several of the folks that came to
work there after I left, did a double take when William was called and in walks a female.
What can I say?
Friday night after closing the shop, I met the owner and her husband at Long Horns for
supper. It was so nice to be treated like one of the ladies with the yes ma’am, no ma’am
and so forth.
I will say this, today is Saturday the 7th of January, when I walked out the door this morning on my way to the tanning booth, I was wearing jeans and a green sweater and flats. I
23
felt at peace with the world in that it/everything felt right as to the way I was dressed. I
have gotten very comfortable in my feminine attire and have no wishes/desires to return
to my former life. There is only one exception and then I will be in my Bubba Skirt (kilt).
I am in the St Andrews Society of Savannah, GA and have been a member for basically 47
years and I plan to make 50, if possible as it is an all male organization. I have already
been expelled from one organization after over 25 years of membership. My father,
grandfather, and great grandfather were all members of St Andrews (family HX). From
the tanning salon, I spent the rest of the day at the nail shop. After we closed, I was invited
out to eat PHO – Vietnamese beef and noodle soup. Sunday morning, I left the house for
church wearing a two-piece skirt suit and heels. As usual, it felt great. After church, I
spent the rest of the day at the nail salon.
Tuesday afternoon, I went to Diane’s house and tutored her son for an hour as the normal
tutor was unavailable. When I finished, I went to Savannah for a meeting of the Scottish
American Military Society, of which I am the treasurer. I have been attending the meetings for over two years now as Barbara with no problems. Also, I have been the treasure
for almost a year now. Wednesday, I packed my bags for my trip to Atlanta on Thursday,
as it is my Sig Eps weekend (TriEss).
Thursday, I was wearing black jeans and a red top with a white sweater when I left the
house. I picked up two riders to bring to Atlanta for the weekend as well. Upon arrival in
Norcross, GA, I was treated to a large bowl of homemade noodle and wonton soup for
lunch. After lunch, I went on to my brothers for the weekend. That night, Brucci, a friend
of his and myself went to the Red Snapper on Cheshirebridge Road for dinner. I was
wearing black slacks, and a multicolored sweater and black heels for dinner.
Friday, I met two of the “ladies” at the Hilton Hotel on Peachtree Industrial Blvd (our
new meeting place) and we met a fourth one at Norcross Station in Norcross for lunch. It
was quite packed for lunch. However, we had a great time and the food was great. From
there three of us (Phoebe, Heather and I) went to the indoor shooting range for about 2
hours of “shoot out at the OK corral”. I had two 380’s and one 9 mm pistols. One of the
other girls had a 380, 9 mm, 38 and 45 cal pistols with her. The other lady had a 380, 9
mm, 32, 38 and a 45 cal pistols. We basically had the range to ourselves. After getting
our aggression under control, it was back to the hotel for the evening. The fourth person
went to get her nails done and to pick up snacks for the weekend. So far, there are seven
of us, including one wife… Plans are to give the hotel restaurant the business for the evening, basically to check it out…The food was delicious, service was good and the staff was
very accepting of us. There were nine of us plus two GG’s for a total of 11 for supper. After supper, most everyone went to the bar. I went back to my brothers as I had three pistols to clean. Saturday I left my brothers wearing jeans and a yellow and black top with
boots for the Saturday meeting. After the meeting, every one went to the Mad Italian for
lunch. Four of the members then went bowling while some went shopping. I went to TJ
MAX, then back to the hotel for a short nap. Saturday evening the group of 18 ladies, including three GG’s went to Gordon Biersch for supper. After supper, I went on back to
my brother’s for the rest of the evening, while others went other places before returning
to the hotel.
24
Sunday morning, I decided to meet my brother and some of his friends for brunch at the
Roxx Café on Cheshirebridge Rd. I was wearing jeans, with my black and yellow top and
black boots when I left the house to meat the “Girls”. They are all members of the LGBT
community. Several of them sing in the Atlanta Gay Men’s Choir. One of the fellows told
me that a member of the Choir is a F2M individual, which I thought was interesting. After bunch, I was on my way to Buford Highway to shop at one of the nail supply places for
the shop. Then I pick up my riders and went to Hong Kong Market on Jimmy Carter
Blvd to meet someone else who was sending a bunch of Vietnamese food back with me for
the folks at the shop. When I finally left Atlanta at 4:30 pm, my car was loaded with
fruits, veggies, pastries, various meats and supplies destined for Statesboro. We got back
about 8 pm. I got home at 9 pm and was tired from the weekend. It was a lot of fun, but
now came the task of cleaning the three pistols, which I will do Monday evening.
Speaking of which, it has been basically almost a month now and things are beginning to
settle down a bit now following the holiday rush. I did glance at the Statesboro paper for
Friday, and low and behold, there was the first of four announcements for a names
change. Only three more weeks to go, followed by a several week delay and hopefully I
will be legally known as Barbara Marie Davidson. With that being said, this is a good
place to leave this article and relax for a couple of days before beginning again. As I have
mentioned in the past, I basically like to put my thoughts on paper to let others who are
still somewhat “closeted” that there is life out there. Some just need the motivation to
want it while others are still at a point in their lives where it is not feasible to do so. Thus,
January 25th is the birthday of that famous Scottish Baird that gave the world such poetry
as “My Love is like a Red, Red Rose”, “Flow Gently Sweet Afton”, “Auld Lang Syne’,
and many, many other works of poetry. Some include ‘Tam O’Shanter, a tale’, “A Mans
A Man For All That’, “To a Field Mouse” (“the best laid plans of mice and men often go
astray”), as well as many other sayings. That poet was Robert Burns, who was born and
died in the 1700’s in Scotland. I will be attending two dinners honoring him. One will be
in Statesboro, GA and I will attend as Barbara. I make the Haggis for it and his poem –
“To a haggis” is recited from memory by one of the members. I will then go to Savannah
GA several days later for another dinner there. This time I will be in my Bubba Skirt
(Kilt) for it. Have a great Burns night if you are so inclined….
Yours
AYE
Barbara Marie
25
Humor
Italian
A virile, middle aged Italian gentleman
named Guido was relaxing at his favourite
bar in Rome when he managed to attract a
spectacular, young blonde woman. Things
progressed to the point where he invited
her back to his apartment and, after some
small talk, they retired to his bedroom
where he rattled her senseless.
After a pleasant interlude he asked with a smile, 'So, you finish?'
She paused for a second, frowned, and replied, 'No.'
Surprised, Guido reached for her and the rattling resumed. This
time she thrashed about wildly and there were screams of passion.
The sex finally ends and, again, Guido smiles and asks, 'You finish?'
Again, after a short pause, she returns his smile, cuddles closer
to him and softly says, 'No.'
Stunned, but damned if he was going to leave this woman
unsatisfied, Guido reaches for the woman yet again. Using the last
of his strength, he barely manages it, but they end together
screaming, bucking, clawing and ripping the bed sheets. Exhausted,
Guido falls onto his back, gasping.
Barely able to turn his head, he looks into her eyes, smiles
proudly and asked again, 'You finish?'
Barely able to speak, the beautiful blond whispers in his ear,
'No, I'm Norwegian.'
Me
lan
ie B
rya
nt
Tam
my T
rueh
eart
Ma
rya
nn
Gin
ger
26
Angels In The Centerfold
Ro
nn
yS
is
27
Stephanie
Sandi Sea
28
Mellissalynn’s Tips & Tricks
Happy Valentine’s Day, ladies, and welcome to February. I hope you all have someone special
to share the special day with, and to any of you lucky enough to be spending it en femme, congratulations!
This month’s column runs through a bunch of different things. I hope you find something useful
to you! If you do, or if you have ideas to share, or just want to tell me about how your Valentine’s Day went, feel free to e- mail me at mlatjnadhmelly@gmail.com .
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Did you know that grapes are full of antioxidants? ‘Tis true! And our faces, ladies, love
the antioxidants. They help chase away the
fine lines and brighten our skin tone. And best
of all, they aren’t very expensive! Here’s a
quick way to put the power of the grape to use.
Put a few grapes in the freezer for about five
minutes. Cut them in two, remove the pits (if
any) and rub the pulp of the grape over your
face and neck. Let this sit for about fifteen
minutes, then rinse. If you do this every night
for a week, you’ll see major differences in
your skin tone and texture.
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The winter, as I may have observed once or
twice before, hates us, girls! It dries our skin,
it chaps our lips, and it dries out our tresses.
One way to combat the last is to leave a bit of your conditioner in your hair. This locks in some
moisture when you blow dry and style your locks, and you’ll feel that it’s more touchable and
soft.
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Fuller brows make a person’s face look more youthful, studies say. Heavy- handed penciling
doesn’t achieve that look! When you pencil in your brows, you want to use a very thin, fine
pencil. After filling in your brows take a brow brush or a soft toothbrush and lightly brush your
brows. This blends the color in and softens the pencil color, making your brows look more
natural and still fuller.
29
@@@@@@@@@@@
Barrettes aren’t just for little girls anymore! There are many great adult- looking pieces out
there these days. A lot of women are wearing jeweled pieces, to add a little sparkle to their
hair. For those of us with shorter hair, try this: make a shallow side part, then slip the barrette
or clip behind your ear.
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Perfumes and scents are susceptible to heat and light, after awhile being exposed, their smells
can alter. If you want yours to stay smelling the way it did when you purchased it, try refrigerating it.
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Ladies, when you do your eyes, please remember to curl your lashes! Women’s lashes naturally curl more than men’s, and this is something that people pick up on. To get perfectlycurled lashes, try this trick. Look in the mirror and lift your chin. Squeeze the curler at your
lashes’ roots and hold for about three to five seconds, then pulse it down your lashes about halfway three times, one second per pulse.
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You should exfoliate every time you shower, girls. As gross as this may sound, humans shed
skin cells roughly every 28 days or so. This skin will sit and make your living tissue look dull
and flat, and it’s even worse if you apply makeup over it. Your skin will feel better and your
makeup will look better for it!
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One quick way to remember to moisturize after showering is to keep your body lotion in the
shower. Your skin will start losing moisture within ten minutes of finishing your bathing; if
you apply your lotion while your skin is damp, that moisture is contained in your skin, which is
the goal.
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Another thing that will help your skin and therefore your appearance is to get your needed
sleep. This is always my own downfall, especially being a third shift worker; there’s never
enough time to get anything else done, let alone give up eight perfectly good hours for sleep!
But your body knows what it needs, and it doesn’t care that you have an important deadline to
meet (such as finishing your article for PTG magazine!) So please, ladies, try to get your rest.
Your body will love you for it!
30
@@@@@@@@@@@
Fun beauty fact: last year, Americans spent
$2.32 billion dollars on shampoo. That’s a lot of
clean hair!
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Ah, more winter tips! Aren’t we all glad that
spring is only a month or so away? Well, in the
meantime, here’s another tip for your tresses. If
you can get away with it, only wash your hair
every two to three days in the wintertime. Again,
this has to do with your hair being dried out from
all the heat being produced inside to combat all
the cold outside.
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When buying a bronzer, remember to look for
one that’s close to your skin tone. Bronzer is
meant to warm the skin tone, not actually color
it. When you apply bronzer, you should try using
a large, soft-bristled brush.
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When applying a highlighter, you should be careful to avoid blemishes in your skin. The last
thing you want to do is to highlight those! Apply it to the middle of your nose, just above the
cupid’s bow of your upper lip, and in a semi-circle pattern from your outer eye along the line of
your cheekbone.
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Girls, this is the basic rule of thumb when contouring your makeup. Anything dark will recede,
anything lightened will spring out. Make this work for you and not against you!
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Earlier in this article, I mentioned that fuller brows make one appear younger. Well now I’m
going to add to the brow lore with some more information, specifically, how to pick the best
eyebrow pencil for your coloring. For black brows, try a soft black or dark gray pencil. Dark
brown brows will look best with a mahogany brown color; mid-brown brows will like chocolate
31
colors best.
For a darker blonde, try a fawn color (reddish blondes might prefer caramel colors). Lighter
blondes want to avoid anything too yellow or light, as eyebrow hairs are a bit darker than your
hair color. Try an ash or a taupe color.
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Here’s a trick I picked up recently
from a makeup artist friend. If you
use lip liner, you should apply it before AND after applying your lipstick!
This will give the illusion of fuller,
plumper lips.
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Would like your blush to last longer?
Here’s a way to make that happen.
Apply a cream blush first, and then use
a powder blush in a similar shade.
The powder will cause the cream to
set, and will give you hours upon
hours of staying power.
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Well, it’s time for Mellissa’s monthly
cleanliness rant! This one is a big nono, in my book. I saw two young ladies sharing mascara recently, and had
no choice but to inform them what a
bad idea this is. As mascara is the biggest potential offender for passing
along bad bacterias. They didn’t believe me at first, but we walked over to
the Bare Escentuals counter at the mall
and the lady there reinforced what I
told them. The story has a happy ending, though; she ended up giving all
three of us some free samples!
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@@@@@@@@@@@
Do you want to make your pout more pouty? Shade the outer corners of your lips with a
slightly darker lip liner, and apply some lip gloss to the center of your lower lip.
@@@@@@@@@@@
Does your hair feel rough when you finish showering? This might be a sign that you’re using
too rough of a shampoo. You might want to try looking for a shampoo that’s more suitable for
your hair type.
@@@@@@@@@@@
Do you follow the old “100 strokes a day” adage for your hair? If you do, you should stop.
When women washed their hair very infrequently, this was a good rule of thumb, but, unless
you live as if you’re in the 1900’s, five to ten strokes a day will do.
@@@@@@@@@@@
Are you trying to show your girls off to their best effect? Try this trick. Take a bronze lipstick
and draw a vertical line down your cleavage, then blend this in with your fingertips. This gives
the illusion of deeper cleavage as well as giving your skin a flattering finish.
@@@@@@@@@@@
And that’s a wrap on this month’s column, sisters! I hope there was something in here that you
found useful or at least amusing. And don’t get discouraged about old man winter; he’s about
ready to pack his stuff up and head south soon.
If you want to gripe about the wintertime blues, or share a great winter tip with me, or start gossiping about spring ideas, feel free to write me! You all know the address: mlatjnadhmelly@gmail.com
Talk to you next month!
33
Kathy’s Korner
“Made Over”
I have all ways wanted to have an M/F makeover performed by a professional and heighten the excitement
level even more by having my photos taken when the
transformation was complete.
In the PTG’s “Kathy’s Korner” my ongoing information
series I wanted to have a professional “Makeover” to let
you experience the whole process and you the reader can
take my first time experience and decide if you would
want to experience it yourself.
Where do I go to get information about having a
Makeover??
There are several ways to track down a boutique or salon that can offer the services you desire.
The Internet
a. General Search
2. Word of mouth (ask your sisters)
a. MatureTGirls site
b. PrettyTGirl’s website
c. Tri- Ess
d. Word of mouth
e. TG Conferences
There are several boutiques that send their staff members to the conferences for the sole purpose of M/F makeovers.
What do I do after I select a boutique or salon?
1. Visit the boutique (either in Drab or Dressed)
2. Speak to the employees and look at the photo’s that will be on the wall or in an album of
past transformations (boutiques and salons love to show off their happy customers).
3. Take a tour of the facility.
4. Tell them what you expect and what you want to look like.
Ask them if they can fulfill your requests and the costs.
Questions to Ask
1. How much will the transformation cost? (On average $50. to $75.)
2. How much will the photo’s cost (On average $50. to $100., depending on the amount of
clothing changes).
3. Can I have an instruction class on how to apply my own make- up (usually cost approximately $100. to $150. per hour).
4. What should I supply and what is included in the makeover (false eye lashes, finger nail
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overlays or stick on nails).
5. Can I get a package deal for the Makeover: Photo’s and/or a Video?
6. Can I use my clothes or do they supply clothes (most boutiques will supply the outer wear
and you have to supply your own underwear).
7. If I want to use my own clothes, wigs & can I get dressed there?
How long does the whole process take?
In my opinion, you must feel secure and comfortable with the boutique staff. You want this
experience to linger in your memory for a long time. It’s not every day you have this experience, plus you are shelling out a good deal of money.
The Makeover can be a very rewarding experience if you can learn from it. Be friendly and
ask questions about what is going to happen to you. Make a list of what you want to know
and don’t be afraid to ask.
If you are not out all the way, most boutiques will go out of there way to make you feel
comfortable and protect you privacy.
I know the first time I visited a boutique I was embarrassed and intimidated until the newness wore off and I got to know the folks and how much they understood my situation.
You know as well as I do how strange if it feels to go out in public as the person that dwells
inside of you. Lift up your head, stick out your chest, smile and strut your stuff, “Go for it
girl”.
Preparations
This next section is my autobiographical account of my experience getting a makeover.
I chose “Just You” boutique here in Vegas. The owner Amy and I have become friends and
she has seen me in drab and dressed and she has wanted to work on this mug of mine for a
while. She tells me that a pretty woman is hiding just under my male skin, we will certainly
find out!
The things I have to think about first: how do I tell my wife I will be gone for half a day
getting a makeover? That will go over like a ton of bricks; she knows about me but doesn’t
approve. I will have to be careful with this explanation.
The other thing I am worried out is what outfit will look the best on me and show off what
assets I have left.
The third and last worry is should I leave the house with my lady undergarments in place
and worry that my wife will give me hell?
I have a lot to think about before that wonderful day.
In a couple of weeks I will make my appointment.
35
meeting with Amy
Last Saturday I went to over to “Just You” to ask Amy some of the questions that I outlined
in the above text. When I arrived I met Michelle Popkov (a member of PTG’s and MTG’s)
and we discussed the importance of having “Your Fist Makeover” and how it boosts your
female ego.
Initial
We talked about the importance of letting Amy know how you want to be portrayed: Sexy,
Cute, Devilish, Mysterious, Show girl, Secretary, etc. In Michelle’s opinion Amy is one of
the best in the business, if not the best.
Michelle told me that one of the tricks of the trade is to use water soluble school glue on
your eye brows, than cover with a coat of foundation, then draw in your brows, using eyebrow powder and pencil. As I told Michelle, over the past 2 years I have plucked my brows
and have given them a nice arch that my wife complains, so I have to be very careful not to
go overboard.
I spoke to Amy and she reiterated how important it is to be let your female self out and be
the person you want to be.
Amy told me I should bring the following with me:
Panties, stockings, my corset, Veronica 2, bra and breast forms, shoes, jewelry, wigs and
a couple of outfits.
Camera
I asked if I could take photos of the different stages of the application of my make- up,
to give my readers a better idea of the process; Amy didn’t have a problem with my
request.
I hope I can fit all my stuff in my car. Sometimes I think there’s more foundations than me.
It’s been a week since my initial visit and so I have tried almost all my outfits to make sure
they fit, don’t need to go to the Dry Cleaners and most of all it’s just fun trying on clothes.
I couldn’t make up my mind which one outfit looked the best so I will be taking 2 or three
with me.
The top on my list is in the brown family, pleated flowery tank top with a flowered chiffon
jacket and tan pencil skirt with tan 3” heels. The second is also in the brown family a dress
with layers of light brown and subtle shades of green chiffon, with green and blue turquoise
stones sewed around the neck, and brown 3” heels. Finally the third outfit is a black and
white pleated blouse, and a black swing skirt with smoke stockings and patent leather 3 1/2”
heels.
The way it appears, I might have to hire a moving van.
I made my appointment for after Thanksgiving and I will take a vacation day; this is a .
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high point in my life, to be treated as women for the day, and I want to give it my all.
I still haven’t told my wife that I will not be around for that day; that will be an
interesting conversation, especially if I pull in the driveway still dressed.
Wish me “Luck”, especially with the conversation with my wife.
The wonderful Day is here!!
I told my wife I needed the day off to go to “Just You” and just hang out and meet
with some folks from Tri-Ess, about joining.
To my surprise she didn’t say a word and didn’t even acknowledge the conversation.
That night I must have spent an hour packing my car with all my stuff.
I arrived at “Just You” about a half hour before my appointment and went in to find
Amy. I was greeted with a hug and told to go back too Amy’s private area and hang up
all my clothes. Amy and I went over each outfit and weighed the pros and cons and we
decided the black and white outfit was the best for the photo shoot.
Amy asked me to dress from the neck down and call for her when I was dressed. The
whole dressing procedure took me about 15 minutes. I just cursed those garters
attached to the corset and probably I should have worn my thigh highs. To be totally
honest I was taken back to see a fairly nice female figure with this old
man’s head attached. After about 15 minutes I was dressed for battle and out of
breath, this corset is killing me.
I notified Amy that I was as ready as I could be and sat down in her chair.
The Process
Amy rubbed my forehead with alcohol and applied a wig cap.
Then the Surgical Tape was applied, pulling the flesh on my upper forehead and sides of
my upper head, about eye level. The tape must be strong to pull out those 68 year old
winkles.
The foundation was applied giving me the appearance of ghost face – see Photo.
The eye makeup was started and my face started to take on a very feminine look.
Amy worked on my eyes and brows what seemed like a half hour. I couldn’t believe
how wonderful my eyes looked – see photo
Next came the contouring of my cheek bones, jaw line and chin, is this really
me? I have never seen so many different brushes with so many shades of shiny
tones. At one point I became very emotional and felt the urge to cry, but I was
afraid I would spoil my eye make-up and embarrass myself in front of Amy.
The icing on the cake, the wig. When the right wig is put on it truly completes the package. All the components, make- up, outfit, and hair make the complete illusion of a
pretty woman.
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I took all four of my wigs to see which one complements the make- up and outfit.
I am not going into the complete step by step procedure, this something you will want to
experience for yourself; secondly I don’t want to give away any trade secrets that might
help any of Amy’s competitors.
The entire process takes a little more than an hour and a quarter.
If you are in a hurry the transformation is not for you, but if you want to relax and enjoy
yourself and see this amazing process take place, applied by a true artist – this is for you!
The Wow!! Factor
It’s time to look at the whole package in the floor to ceiling mirror, my knees almost buckled,
that’s not me standing there, is it??
The only dumb thing I could say to myself is wow, I would even date me.
Amy smiled and I thanked her for a true transformation, she is a master.
Photos
For the initial “before and after” secession we used my camera for about 9 shots when an error
message was displayed on the camera screen “Memory Disc Failure” all the “before” shots
were gone! We tried installing the San Disk in another camera and even into a printer –
“Memory Disk Failure”
Amy took her camera out to continue to record and repeat some of the poses we lost.
I was a wreck and pissed at these darn digital cameras, sometimes I hate technology.
The informal shoot was over and I was exhausted.
After the Makeover
I was all dressed and ready to go shopping and Lunch.
I changed into a brown “V’ neck light brown sweater, jeans and light brown 3” heels and hit the
streets to the Mall.
I stopped in the Las Vegas China Town area for a nice lunch. I must of looked good, a guy at
the restaurant bought me a glass of wine, then back to the mall and “Surges Wigs” and found a
nice blond curly wig for 60% off.
The End of a Perfect Day
All good things must come to an end and today’s activities are no exception.
When I arrived back to “Just You” I showed off my treasures to Amy and her Staff and I knew
it was time that I turn back into a pumpkin.
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I was already to go home the way I was dressed, but I had second thoughts (Cold Feet), especially if my wife and grand kids were home or my nosey neighbors were staring in my car windows.
I took a look into the mirror for the last time at Kathy Ann and with a swish of the face cloth
Kathy Ann retreated back into my mind. This wasn’t a happy time, my female clothes had to be
put on hangers and stored into my garment bags and ready to transport back home. The only
thing I kept on were my panties, I had to have some part of Kathy Ann with me. This whole experience was like a butterfly trying to crawl back into it’s cocoon, so how do you tuck your
wings back in?
Amy gave me a big hug, which almost brought me to tears and I left.
Good thing I didn’t come home dressed, my son and grandkids were all there playing in the
driveway. The funny thing my wife didn’t say a word, not even “Did you have a nice time”. She
spoke to me as if I just returned from work, a normal day!
Looking back there is one thing that I must caution you; make sure you get all your make-up off
especially the adhesive from the surgical tape and mascara; you don’t need to be embarrassed.
The Steps
Tape applied, feeling a
wee bit silly
Foundation and the start of
Eye Makeup. Take a look
at those eyebrows, Wow.
Eye Makeup completed &
blush applied.
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The Princess, completed and ready to go out on the town and have a nice lunch and shop until I
drop. To bad my friend Nora from the Las Vegas Chapter of Tri-Ess couldn’t make it.
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Amy and her establishment in Las Vegas is a Mecca for all of the TG
community. She understands our dreams and desires and does her best to make
them come true. She will listen, advise and guide you to fulfill your dreams.
Amy has a full line of clothes and accessories in large sizes and has many
different activities and parties throughout the year, for us girls to take advantage
of.
So when you are in Vegas call her or just drop in and visit, you will be welcome.
“Just You” Phone number is (702) 697-1800.
Email www.crossdresslasvegas.com
41
The Adventures of Judy
Sometimes
By: Judy Danials
Last Call
I couldn't have written a better ending to 2011 if I had tried. My holiday season was filled with
many special moments involving both family and friends. I think the high point of the last
month or so had to be that my brother finally seems to be coming around to the fact that he has
a sibling who is transgender. It’s almost as if he's done a complete 180 regarding seeing me
dressed. Together with our wives we have spent several nights this holiday season enjoying
cocktails, and each time I was dressed. I'm not going to say things are perfect as there still are a
few awkward moments now and then, but at least now there is a smile and a laugh on his face
rather than a scowl. I see a bright future now that we have gotten to this point.
My New Years Eve celebration was one I have been dreaming about my entire live. The only
clinker was that my wife had a bad cold and had to miss out on the merriment. Our plans had
been set since early December so rather than spoil it for me she said ‘go out and have a good
time, I'll be fine'. What a gem I have for a spouse.
The plan was to meet up with 5 of my lady friends at the VFW around 6:00, then move on to
dinner, and then indulge in a little bar hoping in downtown Fargo. Earlier in the afternoon my
friend Kim had a little surprise for me. I was in need of a file so she told me to stop by about
4:30 as she had planned to get ready for the evening at her salon. When she finished my filing
my nails she asked if she could paint them. She’s been bugging me polish them ever since I
started wearing them 2 years ago and since tonight was going to be special I finally caved in to
her wishes. The dress I was wearing was purple so she decided a light purple with sparkles
would be a perfect match. I had to admit once they were done they looked pretty good. I still
prefer the French tip look, but I will definitely go with a little color now and then.
The bonus of the night was when she told me she was going to do my hair too. Last year we had
planned to do an updo, but unfortunately there was a severe blizzard and our plans were canceled. So this year I finally got my long a waited updo. I showed her a picture on my Facebook
profile of one I had done a few years back and within about 10 minutes she had matched it perfectly. I was literally stunned at how good I looked when I looked in the mirror.
The fun didn't end there; she had brought three different outfits with her as she couldn't decide
what to wear. She has always admired my fashion sense and asked me for some help. In the end
we decided her black 40's style dress along with sheer black hose and 3" pumps would be the
perfect look. I even helped curl her hair. I truly felt like a real woman for a few moments, god
am I lucky.
42
We arrived at the VFW shortly before 6 and I will admit I received a lot more attention than I
normally get. There are several ladies who regularly drink there and most normally don't say
much more to me than the regular chit chat, but tonight I actually got some nice comments out
of them. I knew right then and there tonight was going to be fun.
Soon after we settled in the rest of our posse showed up and we oo'd and aa'd over each other’s
outfits and dos. After seeing all their cute shoes I knew I had made the wrong choice on footwear, but being practical, I knew there was going to be a great deal of walking during the evening and coupled with the crappy weather we are finally getting, I chose to go with boots. I
pouted for a few minutes, but I knew I had made the right decision because the shoes I would
have worn would have left me limping by evenings end.
We had 7:30 reservations at the Radisson so we made our way down the block and a half walk.
The wind had picked up quite a bit since we had arrived at the bar and I worried that my hair
would be a mess by the time we got to dinner. Kim assured me that there was enough hair spray
on my head to last through a hurricane...she was right.
My friend Brittney had made our reservations and she's in tight with the host Monte so we
ended up with what I think was the best table in the house. The restaurant is kind of an unusual
shape and overlooks the lobby of the main floor entrance. Our table was situated so that we
were somewhat hidden from the rest of the restaurant so we had quite the intimate dinning experience. It almost seemed like we had the wait staff to ourselves.
Something really cool happened as we were finishing our meal. There was a private party going
on in one of the rooms and I thought I recognized one of the ladies eating dinner. As they filed
out after their meal it was indeed a woman I had known back in high school. She was with a
rather large group so I decided not to try for her attention, that and the fact I haven't seen her in
20 or more years let alone dressed as a woman (we are Facebook friends though). As I watched
her disappear around the corner I mentioned to my table mates that I knew one of the ladies that
had just left. Shortly after this same woman taps me on the shoulder and says hi, I nearly spit
my food out. I ended up giving her a big hug as we chatted for a few seconds. She and her
group had purchased a NYE package that included a few cocktails in the bar so she asked me to
come find her in the bar when we were finished. Unfortunately, by the time we made it to the
bar I didn't see her there.
After dinner we made our way a few blocks to a place called Sidestreet, a bar inside Howard
Johnsons. They had two of our favorite bands playing that night so we ended up staying there
until we rang in the New Year.
An odd thing happened here as well. I was standing out in the hall with several other people
waiting to use the rest room (one holers) when two very drunk girls came stumbling into the
hallway saying they had to go pee really bad. A few of us just kind of stared at each other thinking yeah, what do you think were doing here, lol. When the men's room door popped open both
girls immediately pushed there way past the guy first in line. He didn't seem to mind, but the
guy behind him said, “hey, come on, that’s the men's room, chicks aren't supposed to use it”.
That’s when a women standing by me said “who cares, it’s a single stall bathroom, who cares
which one we use” as she gave me a smile.
43
OK, now for the really weird part of the evening. Earlier in the night all the ladies joked about
getting lucky tonight as they are all single and unattached. Of course the always kid me about
this too, as I often seem to attract the attention of a guy or two when out. I jokingly said, “hey,
what happens in NYE stays on NYE” and we all giggled. Around 12:30 we ended up at a place
called the Empire, a place I have been frequenting for 30 years or more and the last 5 or so
dressed. My friends Brittney and Tracie and I were sitting at the bar on stools so we were well
in the eye of anyone who was there. Brittney was chatting up an acquaintance she had met a
week or so ago, so Tracie and I were chatting with each other as well with other patrons here
and there. It was getting very near closing and last call had been offered so guys that were
drunk and horny were on the prowl. Well, guess who attracted one such individual, yours truly.
Now this has happened before and I try and politely dismiss their advances for obvious reasons.
Well, this guy was very persistent and wasn't taking my hints. To be truthful I was more than a
little tipsy myself so I probably wasn't as sharp as I usually am in these situations... and that’s
when it happened. He pinned me against the bar and laid a big wet one on me right on the lips.
I'll admit I was more than a little shocked, but strangely a little excited as well. The guy was
actually pretty good looking and I really don't think he realized I was a guy. Before he released
me from his confines he gave me such a big squeeze I thought my forms were going to pop out.
Luckily he walked away with no further interactions so I was spared anymore of his advances,
but it really made me realize what real women go through when out in a bar. Needless to say,
my lady friends got a huge kick out of this a started high fiving me and laughing and screaming,
way to go Judy. Once again I was the only one to get...lucky ?
Judy (sorry I don't go both ways) sometimes
Tammy
A fiction story by: Barbara Jean
Chapter 12
A New Life
Tammy and Nelly spent the summer at home and were both looking for a school to attend.
Tammy still wanted to be a doctor, but decided that she should first be a nurse before going on
to being a doctor. A check with the University of Wisconsin she had found that she could study
nursing at the University Hospital. She would first have to do about a year of study and then
she would go on to be a student nurse and continue studying. It would take her three years to
become a registered nurse. Once she finished nursing school and was a registered nurse as long
as she worked for the University Hospital they would pay a major portion of her tuition for
study at the University. It would be years before she would finally be a doctor, but she would
learn a lot before she went to medical school and medical school would be easier for her after
she got some experience working in the hospital.
Nelly had found herself a job working as a secretary for Sears in the big Sears Tower in
Chicago. Tammy was really starting to feel down. Michael was down in Texas, and Nelly in
44
Chicago, and Sally in Milwaukee. She was missing them. Tammy and Alicia had gotten a
dorm room together. This made Alicia really happy since she was going to be rooming with
someone she knew and trusted. Tammy was also very happy since she would at least have one
friend there in Madison. Alicia planned to get her bachelor’s degree and then she was going to
go on to seminary to become a minister like her adopted mother. This really made Marie happy
to know that her new daughter was going to follow in her footsteps as a minister.
Now that the girls were all gone off to college the old farm was starting to be rather quiet. Life
was also becoming quite different. In the past so much was centered around the girls, but now
with them gone things were changing. They watched movies on the VCR quite a lot for one
thing. They were also busy doing volunteer work for Marie and the church.
One day a van pulled in the driveway. William went to meet the two men that were in the van.
After he talked to them for a while they got out a rather large drill that was powered by a
gasoline motor. Suddenly, they started drilling a big hole in the ground and then they stuck a
big heavy pipe in the hole and began to fill the hole with concrete. William had ordered a
satellite TV system for them. They would be able to watch a lot more TV stations than in the
past.
Thanksgiving was starting to come around and everyone except for Michael would be home for
the holidays. Michael would be Oklahoma with his team playing football. Nelly and Sally both
said that they were bringing friends from work with them for the Thanksgiving holiday.
Alicia and Tammy both rode back to Spring Hill in one car. They did not have any classes on
the day before thanksgiving so they left Madison on Tuesday after school. Sally made it up
Wednesday evening after work. Nelly would come up the next day. It would be a much longer
drive for her from Chicago and she and her friend did not want to make that drive at night.
They would leave early Wednesday morning.
Sally introduced her new boyfriend Kenneth to everyone. Kenneth was about five years older
than Sally. He was finishing law school and was also running for the county commission there
in Milwaukee; Sally met him while volunteering on his campaign. The county commission
would be the first step for Kenneth as his real plans were to run for either for state legislator or
for congress.
When Nelly arrived she introduced everyone to Steven her friend from work. Since they met at
work the two had been going out quite a lot together there in Chicago. Steven was a native of
Chicago and he had taken Nelly to some of the sights and also, to some really nice restaurants
and dancing.
Steven was about a year older than Nelly and worked as an insurance adjuster with Allstate.
His office was located there in the Sears tower where Nelly worked. They had been seeing
each other almost from the first day that Nelly started working there.
The Thanksgiving dinner that year saw quite a crowd. Nancy, Will, Mary, William, Karen,
Alice, Susan, Marie and Alicia along with Tammy, Sally and Nelly and their new boyfriends.
45
Tammy was sort of down because Sally and Nelly both had their boyfriends there for Thanksgiving and Michael could not be there since he had to play with his team in Oklahoma.
Christmas time coming around Tammy got a call from Michael. He would be home for Christmas. It would only be for about a week, and then he had to get back to Texas in time for his
team to practice for the New Year’s Day bowl game. Michael was not on the first string yet
since he was only a freshman, but was in reserve in case someone got hurt or had to be
replaced. He would be flying into Milwaukee on the 20th and would have to return on the 27th.
Tammy was really excited that she would once again get to see Michael and really could not
wait. Tammy’s break from school would start a little earlier and so she called down to Sally
and was going to stay and visit with Sally a day before they went to the airport to pick up
Michael. Michael was going to have to take a flight from Texas to Chicago and then take
another plane from Chicago to Milwaukee. His flight was scheduled to get into Milwaukee
about four in the afternoon. Tammy and Sally were both there waiting for him when his plane
arrived and when Michael got off the plane Tammy ran to him to give him a big hug and kiss.
Christmas time came with lots of presents for everyone but the biggest surprise came when
Steven gave Nelly her gift. It was an engagement ring and Steven asked Nelly if she would
marry him. Nelly of course did agree and everyone was there welcoming the new future
member to the big family.
While Tammy was very happy for Nelly, she was a bit down since she so much would love to
get one from Michael. But at the same time she wondered would she ever be able to marry Michael. There was the problem that she still had that male organ between her legs. She would
first have to have her surgery and that she knew was going to be a few more years before she
could amass the money she needed for that, and then there was still the question of whether the
state would even then allow them to get married. She would have to show her birth certificate
and that said male on it. She was not sure if the state would change it even after she had the
surgery.
Nelly and Steven would be engaged for a year before the actual wedding which would be in
December of the next year.
The next year everything was somewhat normal with Tammy and Michael both involved in
their studies. They did write each other and talk to one another on the phone. During spring
break the two traveled to New York City to take in the sights since neither of them had been to
New York before. They did bring home lots of photos and gifts for everyone from New York.
December came and it was time for Nelly and Stevens wedding. The wedding was held in
Marie’s church which had grown quite a bit, to have close to 100 members, who came from as
much as fifty miles away just to attend church there. Between Nelly and Stevens friends and
family there were about forty people at the wedding. When it was time for Nelly to throw her
bouquet it was Tammy that caught it. Sally’s boyfriend caught the garter. Well of course there
had to be a photo of Tammy and Kenneth together for that, but after the photo Tammy went to
Michael and he gave her a big kiss. Michael then took Tammy’s left hand and with his other
hand reached in his pocket and produced a diamond engagement ring for Tammy. He told
46
Tammy that he did want her to be his bride.
That night they took the car out to a spot that many of the locals would think of as a lover’s
lane. Nobody was there that night so they were alone. Tammy did cuddle up to Michael but
she did have to ask him if they really would be able to get married? It would still be a few
years before she could amass the money she needed for her surgery and she even wondered if
even after that would they be able to get married? Would the state allow it? Michael told her it
did not matter, he did not care if the marriage was legal or not, just that they be together
forever. Legal or not, Tammy was going to be his wife as far as he was concerned.
Michael had two more years left of school and then he and Tammy could get married. By then
Tammy would also be done with nursing school and would be a registered nurse. She liked
working with children and decided that she wanted to be a pediatric nurse, and maybe even
someday be a pediatrician.
The second year of school was almost over with when Tammy got a call from her mother. Her
grandmother Susan had a stroke. The doctors did not think Susan was going to make it.
Tammy came back to Spring Hill and a week later Susan passed away. Mary, Karen and
Tammy were all at her side when she passed. Mary and Karen made the arrangements for
Susan’s funeral and Susan was buried alongside her husband John.
Tammy returned to Madison to take her test and then she was to start work at the hospital as a
student nurse. One more year and she would be able to take her state exam to be a registered
nurse. She would then have to work at the hospital for another year as part of her contract with
the hospital that was paying part of her tuition for nursing school. By the time she was finished
with that Michael would also graduate from the university in Texas.
Sally’s boyfriend Kenneth won his election for the county commission. Kenneth had bought a
home there in Milwaukee and he and Sally had moved in together. Sally was now going to
work with him as a secretary and would have her office right there in the house. Sally and
Kenneth were looking to get married and had planned for a wedding the following June. Of
course, Tammy would be one of Sally’s bridesmaids for the wedding.
Nelly had called her mother from Chicago in July with the news that she and Steven would be
having a baby. The baby’s expected delivery would be in late March. This of course was
exciting news for Nancy and Will, and when Tammy found out she too was excited for Nelly.
The following year Michael finished his studies at the university in Texas. He was hired by a
consulting firm in Denver Colorado and so he would have to move there. Tammy would be
finished with her contract at the hospital in Madison and so she would also move to Denver
with Michael. Tammy got her a job at a children’s hospital there in Denver as a nurse. Her and
Michael got a small apartment there and both began to save up money for Tammy’s surgery.
Tammy and Michael worked for a couple of years saving their money and then Tammy went to
Trinidad to see a doctor there about her surgery. It was all scheduled and she would have it in
September. Mary would travel to Colorado to be with her daughter during the surgery and
47
Michael took time off from his job to be with her also.
After Tammy had her surgery Wisconsin amended her birth certificate and her identification
now all said she was a female. A check was made with the state and it was found that now her
and Michael could get married.
In June Tammy and Michael returned to Wisconsin and to Spring Hill to get Married. After a
honeymoon in Hawaii they returned to Denver. However when they got back Michael found
out that he had been promoted and was being transferred to the companies home office in
Chicago. Michael and Tammy really were happy about the transfer as now they would be again
close to their family and friends.
The cold war was over and the Soviet Union had been dissolved. It was discovered that there
were a number of orphan children in Russia with very few Russians who could afford to adopt
them.
The U.S. had opened itself to allow it’s citizens to adopt children from Russia and so Michael
and Tammy made an application to adopt. It was a lengthy process with them both being investigated by the department of children’s services and the immigration department. . Unfortunately none of the children that were currently available were babies. To adopt one they would
have to take a child was no younger than four years of age.
After about six month they were informed that they had two girls who were sisters. The father
was an army soldier who was killed in the war with Afghanistan, and the mother had given the
children up for adoption when she could not take care of them. The two girls, Anna was six and
Jolana was seven years of age.
Would they be willing to consider adopting them both? Tammy quickly answered yes. She
was ecstatic at the thought of being a mother to two little girls.
It took about three months for the Russian Embassy to issue the passports and for the State
Department to grant the entry visas. The plane tickets were purchased and the girls were to
arrive at the Chicago O’Hara airport the next week. It was then that Tammy and Michael come
to realize the challenge they were about to face with adopting children from a foreign country
that were not little babies. Neither of the girls spoke English, and Tammy and Michael did not
know a word of Russian. Fortunately at the Airport the Russian Embassy did provide an
interpiter for them, but once the girls were handed over to them they would be on their own.
A lady from the adoption agency was going to stay with them for the day. Tammy and Michael
kept pointing to things and then calling them by their English names while the girls kept calling
them by their Russian names. Sometimes things would get to be a bit comical and there was
laughter. This was one thing the girls did seem to understand.
Tammy and Michael first took the girls to an ice cream parlor for some ice cream. They would
point to the different flavors of ice cream and call out the names to the girls in English. Since
the girls did not have any clothes other than what they were wearing, the next stop was to some
48
stores to get them some clothes. There in the Chicago Loop they went to Marshal Fields and
got them some dresses and shoes along with some underwear. Each of the girls was given a
pink and white party dress that matched. and they got some jeans, and some Chicago T Shirts.
Some mary jane shoes and some tennis shoes. Also they got a winter coat, some boots and
gloves and hats for the winter which would soon be here in Chicago. A trip to a movie theater
with cartoons was also made and one could hear them all laughing at the cartoons.
Social Services was going be sending someone over to their house each week for awhile to
check on how the girls were doing with their new parents. They learned from the Social Service worker that the state would provide them with a teacher to help them in teaching the girls
English. Also the girls would be put in a special class at school that was for children who did
not speak English.
On the weekends Tammy and Michael would take the girls to Spring Hill and Wautoma to meet
with their new grandparents. Mary and William were very excited to see the girls and so was
their new aunts Karen and Alice. The Netley’s were also excited to meet the girls.
Since Nelly and Steven were also living in Chicago, Tammy and Michael would often to go see
them. Their son Richard was now just two years younger than Anna and so now Tammy and
Michael would bring their new daughters over when they went to see Nelly and Steven. It was
always fun watching Richard play with the two girls and watch them trying to communicate
with one another.
After about a year Anna and Jolana were starting to speak fairly good English and it was getting
a lot easier to communicate with them.
On the couch, Tammy and Michael sat next to each other with their two little girls on each side
of them. Tammy first gave Michael a kiss and then gave her two daughters a kiss. Her life was
complete. She was a very happy woman.
One day while visiting her mother at the farm in Spring Hill her mother pulled out an old picture of Tommy. Mary held the photo above an ashtray and then gave Tammy a book of
matches. Tammy lit one of the matches and then took the match to the photo. Tommy was
gone forever.
49
Booobety Booobety Booobety!
Ladies and Gentlemen - start your engines! I am very happy to announce that the T-Girl Race League is back in operation for the
2012 race year!! We are a mature content (adult postings are not
permitted at all and we are not a "hook- up" group although friendships are encouraged) group that enjoys the thrill of NASCAR
Racing and the fun of meeting others who share similar interests.
Most of our members are transgendered or CD's with some really
nice admirers or SO's who enjoy us and racing. We are semimoderated and SPAMers are removed as soon as we discover
them.
The T-Girl Racing League operates as a private club within the Yahoo Sports Fantasy Auto
League. Each week team owners pick 4 active drivers from the pool that they feel will finish
well in the race and try to earn points throughout the season - ending in the declaration of a Season Champion! But be aware that each driver can only start in 9 races out of the 36 points races.
So choose wisely and be lucky!
I hope all of you will join our team for another season of fun and friendship! The League support team is going to try and make this an interesting year. We intend to continue to build on the
legacy that Commissioner Emeritus Regina created for our community and supporters.
To create a team and enjoy the upcoming race season Go to http://racing.fantasysports.yahoo.com/auto and simply follow the directions to create a
new team in the Yahoo Race League. (Note: you do need to have a Yahoo account which is
very easy to create.) Then join the private T-Girl Race League. The Group ID # is 429 and the
password when asked is "44dcup".
Finally come over and join my Yahoo group T-Girl Race League at http://groups.yahoo.com/
group/t- girlracingleague. Participate as much or as little as you wish but it is much more fun
when you share your thoughts.
Help me reach out to our community and draw more teams into the League. The more the better
and the more fun for all!
Ginger in Pittsburgh PA
TGRL Commissioner
gingergmccd@yahoo.com
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Tasi’s Fashion News
Wear Makeup, Appear More Likable
Compiled by Tasi Zuriack
A new study sheds light on why makeup is a girl's best friend
Fans of “The Drew Carey Show” may recall Mimi, a co-worker most
well known for making cutting wisecracks and wearing an extremely
ostentatious amount of makeup on her face.
Turns out, viewers may have perceived her character to be the most
competent of the workers. According to a new study involving joint
research from Harvard University and Massachusetts General Hospital Department of Psychiatry and Procter and Gamble (P&G), the way
women wear color cosmetics can significantly alter how others perceive them.
Researchers asked participants to judge 100 photos of 25 women’s faces, in which the ladies appeared in varying degrees of makeup classified as “natural,” “professional” and
“glamorous,” (building up intensity with the latter category representing the most obvious
darker shades of color).
All three makeup looks increased ratings of attractiveness, competence, likability and trust
compared to ratings of the same women when they were viewed without any makeup at
all. More surprisingly, women with the "glamorous" look were rated just as likable as the
same women with the "professional" look, but were rated significantly more attractive and
competent (though less trustworthy). Crazy, right?
Are You Satisfied with Your Face?
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Makeup haters, feel free to take the research with a grain of salt, but at least consider its
implications for social and professional empowerment. In a video interview, lead investigator Nancy Etcoff, Ph.D., Assistant Clinical Professor at Harvard University and Associate
Researcher at Massachusetts General Hospital Department of Psychiatry, claimed this all
means that when it comes to self-confidence, makeup doesn't just have a placebo effect.
"This [research] suggests that makeup is a tool that women can use to bring out different
aspects of themselves, not just their attractiveness, but other aspects of their social
warmth, likability, their trustworthiness or their confidence," she said.
Big meeting coming up? Sounds like a touch of mascara and lipstick certainly couldn't hurt.
Whether you decide to go full-Mimi is totally your prerogative.
Makeup is proven to make women look more attractive. The question is “why?”
Women and makeup have a complicated relationship.
Some revel in it, running from CVS to Sephora to try on every last trend, delighting in
transforming their look with the flick of a brush. Others keep it simple, sticking with the bare
basics and often forgetting to put it on at all. And many abhor the stuff, either because they
don’t like its feel on their skin, or don’t like what it stands for.
Love it or hate it, women have been using makeup, in different forms, for a very long
time.
Fashionable sixth century women made their faces paler by bleeding themselves, either
directly or with the help of leeches. During the Italian Renaissance, women coated their
faces with toxic chemicals including arsenic, lead and mercury.
It was even popular to look sickly in the 19th century, when tuberculosis was considered a
“romantic” disease. Women of that era emphasized the circles under their eyes and used
rouge to look flushed with fever.
When did people first start using makeup? No one is 100 percent sure. The first archeological records of clear makeup use come from Ancient Egyptian and Sumerian tombs dating as far back as around 3500 BC. They used soot and other natural ingredients to paint
their faces, and even had specialized tools to apply their makeup.
However, paints and other means of self-decoration date back tens of thousands of years.
Archaeological sites in South Africa provide evidence that body paint may have been used
over 50,000 years ago, suggesting people painted their bodies before they even wore
clothes. Even our closest relatives, the Neanderthals, may have worn makeup and jewelry.
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But the real question is, why? Not why do we wear it—anyone who has ever felt gorgeous
after a swipe of rosy blush can tell you that makeup can help us feel, and thereby look,
pretty—but rather, why does it work?
In the animal kingdom, females advertise sexual availability and quality through physical
signals. Whether it’s red rumps or elaborate behaviors, these wild women make it well
known to potential mates that they’re interested in, ready for and capable of producing
healthy babies. We humans lack these flagrant signals—it’s almost impossible to tell if a
woman is fertile. Almost.
If you look at makeup use across cultures and eras, a pattern emerges. In theory, one
could put color anywhere on the face. But all cultures have independently agreed on certain beauty principles: Makeup is used to even the complexion, darken the eyes, pinken
the cheeks and redden the lips, no matter if you’re a doll-like Japanese Geisha, an Ancient
Egyptian or a modern American woman primping for a Saturday night out.
The maintenance of youthful features and the
exaggeration of female typical traits can be
found in almost every culture,” says Dr. Bernhard Fink, a professor at the University of Göttingen who studies the evolutionary psychology of
human mate preferences. Makeup works because it exaggerates (or completely fabricates)
our natural signs of youth, fertility and sexual
availability, thus making a woman seem more
appealing. In other words, it works because it’s a
darn good lie.
Studies have shown that women's faces are more attractive to both sexes near ovulation,
when they’re most fertile. During this time, the relative concentration of the hormone estrogen rises in comparison to progesterone. This hormonal shift enhances vascular blood
flow under the skin's surface, which has a few side effects: Women near ovulation report
that they're more easily turned on and have more interest in sex. But this increase in blood
flow also leads to visible signals—pinker cheeks and redder lips. Thus by putting on reddening lipstick, we accentuate a natural signal of fertility.
On top of that, blood flow also increases during arousal, so those red lips and pink cheeks
are not only implying that her body is ready to have a baby, they're also saying that she’s
interested in having that baby with you, the man she’s talking to right now, which of course
is bound to draw attention from potential suitors.
Eye makeup and lipstick work synergistically to make a face appear more feminine.
“Women tend to be naturally darker around their eyes and mouths than men of the same
skin tone. When women use cosmetics to darken the eyes and lips, they are exaggerating
this sex difference to make the face appear more feminine,” explains Dr. Richard Russell,
an Assistant Professor of Psychology at Gettysburg College.
53
The key, Russell has found, is contrast. The darker the facial features in relation to the skin
tone, the more feminine a face appears. His research has shown that this phenomenon is
so important in distinguishing gender that the exact same face can be perceived as either
male or female depending on the level of contrast.
In Russell's study, two near-identical faces
were made by blending male and female
faces. The only difference between the two
was that one face had a lighter skin tone, thus
creating more contrast. Most subjects thought
the face with less contrast was male and the
one with more contrast was female even
though they had the exact same eyes, nose
Courtesy of Dr. Richard Russell An androgynous face with different levels of contrast.
Perception 38, 1211–1219.
and mouth! Russell also found that when you digitally darken the eyes or the lips of a
woman’s face, it becomes more attractive, while the opposite is true for a man’s.
It’s not just bold colors that matter. Foundation and cover-up also play a large role in making a woman look more attractive because even skintones give the impression of youth.
“Both skin topography and skin coloration affect the perception of facial age, health and
attractiveness,” says Fink. “Skin topography seems to be a strong age cue while skin coloration is a stronger predictor of facial health perception.” When we’re young and healthy,
our skin is flawless. But as we get older, our skin tends to get discolorations and become
less even-textured, whether from the sun, scars or other kinds of damage. It’s not surprising that covering up such imperfections makes us appear younger and healthier.
But, you’ll often hear women say, MY (boyfriend/husband/partner/whoever) says that I look
prettier without makeup! Well, it's true that when you poll men about their makeup preferences, as many as one in five says their significant other wears way too much makeup,
while one in ten wishes that women didn't wear makeup at all. There is no doubt that a
good portion of men will gladly say women look prettier without it.
While that's certainly a nice sentiment, their actions speak louder than their words. Study
after study has found that when shown pictures of women with and without makeup, men
(and women!) consistently rate images with makeup as more attractive, confident, feminine
and healthy.
Makeup doesn’t just change how men view a woman’s looks. When asked about personality measures, men also give higher scores to women who wear makeup.
Waitresses wearing makeup also earn higher tips from their male clientele. Studies have
found that guys think those makeup-wearing gals have more prestigious jobs and are more
intelligent, secure, interesting and organized!
54
We’re not saying wearing makeup is more likely to get you hit on at a bar, but Dr. Nicolas
Guéguen, from Université de Bretagne-Sud, is. He found that men approached a woman
sooner and more often when she wore makeup than when she didn’t. Guéguen thinks that
makeup may not be just about looking prettier, though. “Perhaps the effect of makeup is
not to enhance physical attractiveness per se,” he writes, “but to serve as a cue to males
that ‘this female might be available.”
Whatever makeup says, it works, and not just on the men. Women feel prettier when
they’re wearing makeup. A study of American college students found women had higher
opinions of their own bodies and appearance when made up. Putting on cosmetics has
been shown to boost self-image in a variety of different women, from the elderly to surgery
patients.
It's no wonder that we shell out around $40 billion dollars a year on this stuff. We are
drawn to makeup because it taps into our primal urge to enhance our femininity, distinguish ourselves from men and prove that we are a catch—whether we realize that’s what
we’re doing or not.
http://www.youbeauty.com/face/makeup-makes-you-appear-likable?
utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_term=Master%20List&utm_campaign=Makeup%20More%
20Likable&utm_content=Final
DENIER TIGHTS
From mytights.com
Denier relates to the thickness of hosiery, whether you're looking for something sheer (lower
denier), or for something with more coverage and durability (higher denier), we have a wide
selection to choose from.
Ultra Sheer Tights: 5 Denier and 8 Denier Tights
Less than 10 denier, including natural look 8 denier tights and ultra sheer 5 denier.
Sheer Tights: 10-20 Denier Tights
10 denier, 12 denier, 15 denier and 20 denier tights.
Semi Opaque Tights : 30-40 Denier
More coverage than sheer (20 and below), including 30 denier and 40 denier tights.
Opaque Tights: 50-60 Denier Tights
50 denier and 60 denier tights, as well as the slightly thicker 66 denier.
Thick Opaque Tights: 70-90 Denier Tights
70 denier, 80 denier and 90 denier tights.
Mega Thick Opaque Tights : 100 Denier Tights Plus
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100 denier and 120 denier, including thick wools and leggings.
Find out more about different deniers.
Deniers: What does it mean?
Technically denier relates to the weight (i.e. thickness) of the yarn from which hosiery is
woven, (in case you are interested, 1 denier means that 9,000 meters of yarn weighs 1 gram).
Generally the lower the denier, the sheerer the appearance and the more fragile the product.
Certain products however have an appearance that is sheerer than would be expected for their
denier - this is good news as it means that a product is stronger than it looks!
The terms sheer tights, ultra sheer tights, opaque tights and thick tights are referred to frequently. We have outlined below what we mean by each of these terms.
Ultra Sheer: Less than 10 denier
Ultra sheer hosiery is ideal for achieving a bare leg look. Available in a wide variety of deniers
and shades to suit your skin tone, ultra sheer hosiery smoothes out blemishes and keeps your
legs cool during the hot summer months.
Most ultra sheer products will also have sheer toes, making them ideal to wear with strappy sandals. Some may also have a sandal toe which means that the weave is ever so slightly thicker on
the toe compared to the rest of the leg.
Sheer: 10 to 20 denier
Sheer hosiery is a must- have summer item for every woman’s hosiery draw. Much like ultra
sheer, sheer hosiery is available in an array of colours, deniers and finishes but, being a slightly
thicker denier, will be a little more durable for everyday wear. Opt for matt finishes for a natural look and go for shine for a more noticeable appearance.
Sheer hosiery can have both sheer toes and sandal toes, which again is great for wearing with
strappy sandals or open toe shoes.
Semi-Opaque: 21 to 40 denier
Semi-Opaque hosiery is stronger and longer lasting than sheer. It will give your legs more coverage but your skin will remain quite visible. We have some great semi-opaque hosiery available in an assortment of bright and everyday colours from leading brands including Jonathan
Aston and Pamela Mann.
Opaque: 41 to 69 denier
Opaque hosiery will give your legs great coverage and unlike semi-opaque tights, your skin will
be far less visible. We have an extremely wide selection of opaque hosiery available in lots of
colours from brands such as Emilio Cavallini and Falke. Perfect for winter, opaque tights are
also great during springtime weather teamed with shorts and skirts.
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Thick Opaque: 70 to 99 denier
Thick opaque hosiery is a god-send during winter, especially if you want to keep your legs
warm when wearing your favourite LBD to all those Christmas parties! If you don’t like wearing trousers in the winter months, thick opaque tights are ideal for keeping your legs protected
from the elements, plus they’re extra durable. Also due to their thickness the colour on your leg
will be strong and give a clear outline to your legs.
Mega Thick Opaque: 100 Denier Plus
Every woman needs mega thick opaques for winter! Mega thick opaque’s are great alternatives
to leggings and woolly tights. They give your legs complete coverage at all times. They are also
great if you want a strong and solid colour on your leg. We have mega thick opaques available
in an assortment of colours – perfect for making your legs stand out or alternatively go for a
classic black.
How To Disguise Big Hands And Feet
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Lucille Sorella is a GG (genetic girl) who teaches crossdressers, transsexuals, and transgender females how to look, act, and feel like real
women. Her goal is to help T-women express their inner and outer femininity and increase their confidence as women. She has a professional background in fashion,
beauty, dance, and natural healing and has been working
with the transgender community for the past 12 years. Her website is loaded with useful information and is located at http://www.flat2fem.com/index1.html .
By Lucille Sorella
Size has a lot to do with perceived femininity. In my last blog post, I talked about
how to look shorter. Now let’s move on to
big hands and feet!
Even short TG women tend to have bigger hands and feet than genetic women.
This sends masculine signals. Here are
five tips for downplaying large hands and
feet:
1. Wear heels
Heels make long feet look shorter because they bend the foot into a vertical position.
Obviously you shouldn’t go overboard if you are tall, but even a one-inch heel will
make your feet look smaller and more feminine.
57
2. Groom your fingernails
Groomed fingernails make your hands look more feminine, which helps blend them
into your overall image. Choose nail shades that blend into your skin tone, rather than
attention-grabbing reds and pinks. The ideal fingernail length is one-quarter inch past
your fingertips. Nails that are too short or too long make your fingers look stubby.
3. Avoid strappy sandals
Strappy sandals are sexy, but the more of your foot your expose, the bigger it looks.
You should also avoid T-straps since the center strap creates a vertical line that makes
your feet look longer. If you want to show skin, choose peep toes or sling backs instead.
4. Choose the right jewelry proportions
Avoid flashy rings and bracelets if you have big hands, but that doesn’t mean you
should go for dainty jewelry styles. You need big bold jewelry to match your proportions. If you want to wear bracelets or rings, choose one or two wide but simple styles
in a solid color.
5. Go for rounded toes
Remember those pointy toe shoes that looked like they could be used as a weapon to
kill somebody? Thank God they are out of style now because they are a TG girl’s worst
nightmare! Pointy toes add unwanted length to your feet. Square toes are also a no-no
since they make the feet look wider. Instead, go for classic shoe styles with rounded
toes.
The Gossip Fence
Transgender in the News
Suicide Rate for Trans Women Denied Implants Alarming
A new study from the Swedish Federation for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Rights
(RFSL) concludes that breast implants are literally a life and death matter for transgender
women who need the operation to "fit in as women in their everyday life." And the suicide rate
among those who don't get them is at least 30 times higher than the average person.
According to Swedish website, The Local, RFSL warns that transgender women who are
refused breast implants as a compliment to hormone treatment can suffer from a variety of
psychological problems, resulting in an “alarmingly” high suicide rate.
Plastic surgery for transgender patients saves lives, according to RFSL. The study shows that
psychological complications for those forced to live with a body that doesn't match their gender
58
identity is high and the suicide rate among patients denied breast implants is 30 to 40 percent,
compared with only 1.6 percent for the general population.
More gynecologists opening minds, offices to transgender patients
In an effort to improve the quality of and access to health care for what it calls "a small but substantial population," the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists is urging OB/
GYNs to create a more open, welcoming environment for transgender patients.
The hope is to make a dent in the abusive treatment that traditionally has scared this unique
community away from doctors. The snickers and stares from the nurses' station. The irrelevant
questions about birth control and family planning. Judgmental looks, statements and — for 2
percent of the population, according to a recent study — outright violence and physical harassment from doctors and staff. Some have even been refused treatment.
A recent survey found that almost 30 percent of the transgender community postpones care due
to discrimination concerns. Transgender people represent 1 to 3 percent of the U.S. population
(or 3 million to 9 million Americans) and 1.5 percent of Florida's population (or 200,000 Floridians), according to what many consider highly conservative estimates from the Florida Organization Regarding Gender Equality.
For its part, the medical community is becoming increasingly concerned about the obvious
health implications. In the December issue of Obstetrics & Gynecology, ACOG issued a committee opinion recommending that doctors add a transgender option to their patient forms; post
a non-discrimination policy in their offices; train staff to treat transgender patients with respect
and sensitivity and offer them the same routine care and screenings they give others.
"The consequences of inadequate treatment are staggering," the ACOG opinion states, noting
high suicide and self- mutilation rates among transgender people, more than half of whom also
seek illegally obtained hormone or silicone injections from unlicensed providers. And then, of
course, there are the illnesses and diseases that, without routine preventive care, go undetected
— until it's too late.
Gynecologists, especially, can prove critical to a transgender patient's care — for transitioning
males who still have female biological parts; for transitioning females taking hormone injections; and for those going through gender-affirmation surgery.
Still, the old-fashioned biases remain pervasive, and "a large percentage" of gynecologists will
ignore ACOG's appeal and won't change their practices, she predicted.
Transgender Equality: It's The Law!
San Francisco - Two landmark transgender rights bills signed by Governor Brown last year became law on January 1, 2012. AB 887, the Gender Nondiscrimination Act, strongly clarifies the
existing employment, housing and other civil rights protections for all Californians. The law
makes it clear that discrimination is not legal in California. AB433, the Vital Statistics Mod-
59
ernization Act, streamlines the process for Californians to obtain and update birth certificates.
"This is a huge victory, and yet there is still work to be done in order to make sure all our laws
and societal attitudes are fair and promote justice for transgender people," said Kristina Wertz,
"The passage of these bills motivates me to work harder than ever before to ensure transgender
and gender non-conforming people have access to quality health care and are treated with dignity and respect."
MoD paying for troops' gender surgery
DEFENCE chiefs have spent thousands of pounds to help troops have SEX CHANGES.
The MoD used taxpayers' cash to pay towards "minor surgical procedures relating to gender
reassignment". The outlay was made despite crippling cuts in the defence budget.
Our Boys also face a controversial pay cut under Chancellor George Osborne's attempts to
bring down the deficit.
A statement from the headquarters of the MoD's Surgeon General said requests for help with
sex change procedures were dealt with "on a case by case basis". They are considered by the
Exceptional Case Assessment Panel. Patients may be referred to the NHS if surgery is required.
But officials said: "From April 2009 to date, the cost to the MoD is £7,440 for minor surgical
procedures relating to gender reassignment."
Fewer than five service personnel and civil servants have asked for treatment in that time, the
MoD said. Hormone therapy after a sex change is available under the NHS.
Trans -Youth and the Empire Conference
The hot topic in the media, on the internet, print and the talk shows is trans-youth. This most
important part of our community has been under served for many years and is now getting the
attention it deserves.
Understanding the needs of our youth and their parents/guardians is something that affects all of
us.
We at TransGenerations, the Empire Conference, we welcome Arlen Lev of Choices Counseling and Consulting as a keynote speaker on Friday 4/13/2012. Arlene Lev will also be presenting a panel workshop, Trans Youth Panel: "In our Own Words" on Friday and Supporting Gender Nonconforming Children and Youth workshop on Saturday, 4/14.
This workshop is primarily for trans-youth, their parents of trans- youth and the general public.
ON THE JOB / Many queer Canadians battle bigotry at work
A recent Angus Reid poll that asked queer Canadians about workplace discrimination found
that 93 percent describe their employer’s overall attitude toward queer people in the workplace
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as tolerant; 72 percent feel attitudes in the workplace have improved over the past five years; 34
percent of gays and 40 percent of lesbians have experienced discrimination during their professional lives; and 28 percent of respondents who have not come “out” at their workplace say
they fear negative consequence.
These statistics, though far from ideal, have been described in the Canadian mainstream media
as an indicator of success for sexual minorities in the Canadian workplace. Some point out,
however, that like many projects that purport to reflect the experiences of the queer community,
the results of this poll seem to be missing entire groups of people. For example, despite the Angus Reid survey being a poll of opinions within the entire LGBT community, the results are
broken down into the categories of gay, lesbian, bisexual men, and bisexual women. No “T.”
Scanlon would like to see surveys that say they are LGBT actually mean LGBT. In his role as a
researcher with the Transpulse project — which investigates the impact of social exclusion on
trans people in Ontario — he has found that 13 percent of respondents report they've faced firing or constructive dismissal as a result of being trans; 15 percent think prejudice could have
been a part of their dismissal; 18 percent have been turned down for a job because they are
trans; and 17 percent have turned down a job due to lack of a trans-positive environment.
These stats are a big reason that “while 71 percent of trans people have at least some college or
university education, about half make $15,000 per year or less,” and only one third of those surveyed by Transpulse had full- time jobs. So while the trans community has seen some marginal
improvements over the last five years, says Scanlon, “it's not showing itself.”
TransPulse, which surveyed 433 trans people in Ontario between April2009 and May 2010, has
had to collect data differently, using something called respondent-driven sampling, a technique
that weights data so that non-random polling — subjects recruit their friends — can be used to
draw unbiased conclusions. This technique is used primarily for hard-to-access populations and
involves a lot of legwork.
GOP Says Christians Discriminated Against More Than Gays
When a viewer asked what gay couples should do who want to "form, loving committed relationships," answers from Republican candidates during Tuesday's debate devolved into a case
for why it's actually Christians who are being persecuted.
"The bigotry question goes both ways," declared Newt Gingrich. "And there is a lot more antiChristian bigotry today than there is concern on the other side, Rick Perry decried "this administration's war on religion." The Texas governor ran a now infamous ad in December that has
been roundly mocked online complaining how unfair he believes it is that gay people can serve
openly in the military while Christians are supposedly forced to hide their beliefs. He pointed to
President Obama's decision to abandon a legal defense of the Defense of Marriage Act.
Mitt Romney was governor in Massachusetts when the courts ruled that marriage equality was
required by their constitution, and he warned that "this decision about what we call marriage
has consequences." Romney lamented that Catholic Charities had opted not to run adoption and
foster care in Massachusetts because the law no longer allowed the
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group receive state money and discriminate against same-sex couples who had married there.
Romney said LGBT people should be allowed to raise children, but they should ideally be
raised by a male and a female, describing gay couples as inferior to straight ones in the same
way that being raised by a single parent would be.
Rick Santorum has the same view but goes further. He said recently on the campaign trial in
New Hampshire that same-sex parents were worse for children than being raised by a convict.
Santorum also reiterated his belief that those couples who have already wed (1,800 in New
Hampshire alone) should have their marriages dissolved.
Marriage Equality is a Trans Issue, Too
Recent high-profile cases show that marriage equality is a transgender issue too.
When Nikki and Thomas Araguz were married in Texas in 2008, she had been married and divorced once before, and she had legal documentation identifying herself as a woman. Although
Nikki, born biologically male, didn't have her gender transition surgery until a few months after
the ceremony, she had no reason to think their marriage wasn't legal. In 2010, Thomas, a firefighter, died while battling a blaze. When Nikki tried to claim her share of his death benefits, a
judge ruled their marriage invalid.
"In the vast majority of cases [involving marriages of transgender people], nobody has any
problem. "Nobody even questions the validity of the marriage. Now there have been a handful
of cases in very conservative states that have come out badly." The reason? "Courts in these
states have been so homophobic,". "They don't want to even come close to recognizing a samesex marriage."
Cases that have ended badly include that of Christie Littleton in Texas, where an appeals court
ruled in 1999 that she could not bring a wrongful death suit after her husband, Jonathon, died;
even though she had undergone gender-reassignment surgery, the court deemed Littleton male
and her marriage invalid. In Kansas in 2002 came the only such ruling at a state supreme court
level, in which J'Noel Gardiner, another transgender woman who had been widowed, was denied inheritance rights because the court did not recognize her marriage.
There was encouraging news last year in Texas, one of the last states to allow proof of gender
reassignment to get a marriage license. In November a Dallas County judge refused to invalidate trans man James Allan Scott's marriage to Rebecca Robertson, allowing the dissolution of
their marriage to proceed as a divorce and giving Scott a chance at a share of the couple's property, says his lawyer, Eric Gormly. Though Scott had transitioned before their marriage, Robertson sought to nullify the union on grounds that he was born female.
Nationwide legal recognition of all marriages, regardless of the parties' gender, "would certainly
solve the problem for everyone. For transgender people involved in disputes, Minter advises
settling out of court if possible, but adds, "If you present the case in the right way, you have a
good chance of winning."
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IRS Affirms that Transition-Related Care is Tax Deductible
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has affirmed that transgender people can deduct their hormone therapy and sex reassignment surgery expenses. This announcement indicates that the
IRS will follow the U.S. Tax Court’s 2010 ruling in O’Donnabhain v. Commissioner, which
held that gender identity disorder (GID) is a medical condition, and transgender people receiving hormone therapy or sex reassignment surgery as treatment for GID may deduct these costs
as medical expenses.
As with other medical expenses, anyone seeking to deduct transition-related care from their
gross income must be able to document that they incurred these expenses as treatment for a
medical condition—in this instance, GID. For more information about deducting transitionrelated care from your federal taxes, see NCTE’s factsheet, Federal Taxes and Transgender
People: Frequently Asked Questions.
Working to TILTT the world to trans equality
Cheryl Courtney-Evans co-founded Transgender Individuals Living Their Truth in 2007 after
deciding it was time to have an organization offering resources to all transgender people. “I
thought it was time for there to be an organization for trans men and trans women … the first
one in the area to be co-ed,” she says.
Courtney-Evans founded TILTT with Lisa Newsome, now with Someone Cares, an HIV/AIDS
group helping people of color and transgender people. The goal of the new group was to not
segregate but rather bring different groups of people together.
MORE INFORMATION:
Transgender Individuals Living Their Truth
Meetings on second and fourth Tuesdays
7-9 p.m. at the Phillip Rush Center
1530 DeKalb Ave., Atlanta, GA 30307
www.tiltt.org <http://www.tiltt.org/>
-The group meets the second and fourth Tuesday of every month at the Phillip Rush Center. It
serves as a safe place for transgender people to talk about relationship issues, job leads, name
change documentation, and HIV testing, as well as receive support from friends. “If we advocate and reduce or eliminate the issues that we need support with, then we’ve made progress,”
she adds.
Transgender Lawsuit Filed in NY to Allow Sex Changes in Birth Certificates
The transgender community is trying to gain recognition on paper for their “lived sexual identity,” according to a lawsuit filed in March of 2011. A lawsuit was filed last year demanding the
right to change birth certificates to reflect a transgendered person’s current “lived” gender
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status. New York City will amend a person's birth certificate to reflect a sex change, but only if
the person has undergone "convertive surgery" on the genitals.
In a 2006 ruling the New York City Department of Mental Health and Hygiene board cited potential impacts on hospitals, schools and jails, and decided to maintain the genital surgery requirement. "The utilization of sex as a classification method is rational, since it is a straight forward way to ensure that birth records in the City of New York are uniform," lawyers for New
York City wrote in a court filing.
New York officials say if it were to allow an individual to obtain a new birth certificate with a
different stated sex, it would be "knowingly issuing a false public record.” "The standard
leaves little room for individual interpretation. By simply looking at a baby's genitalia, an individual is able to determine its sex," lawyers for New York City wrote. Lawyers have tried to
have the suit tossed out by arguing that sex, when recorded on a birth certificate, refers to biological and physical characteristics such as the genitals, while the “lived” experience is based
on socially constructed gender roles which are a different and separate category.
Birth certificates are a very important document that are used not only as a record of existence
but also for many state and federal requirements including; public assistance programs, social
security entitlements, proof of citizenship, driver licenses, and even are required when enrolling
in school or applying for work in America. Currently birth certificates cannot be changed without major surgery in New York. However, transgender individuals are still able to change the
gender on their state identification cards and state driver’s licenses.
Former Homecoming King Runs For Office As Woman
ORLANDO, Fla. -- A former football player and homecoming king is running for local office
as a woman. Gina Duncan filed paper-work to run for the Orange County Commission on
Monday. Her goal is to become Orange County's first transgender commissioner. Duncan could
wind up running against incumbent Ted Edwards in a race that'll generate a lot of attention,
even in a Presidential election year.
Gregory fathered a son and a daughter, before telling his family in 2006 that he was going to
undergo surgery to become a woman. "In the transgender world, the decision is one that builds
over a period of time. It gets to a point where you need to be your authentic self," says Duncan.
Duncan says that's the woman now running to represent the 5th District. If elected, she'd be
Orange County's first transgender commissioner. Current commissioner, and right now Duncan's only opponent, Ted Edwards tells WESH 2 News that he hopes the race will be won or
lost based on the issues, and the candidate who can best represent the 190,000 people in the district.
Edwards has been a commissioner off and on for a decade and says he's looking forward to debating Duncan.
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ABC Pulls 'Work It' From Schedule; 'Cougar Town' Still Unscheduled
The network has pulled the critically panned cross-dressing comedy -- a project only ABC Entertainment president Paul Lee seemed to love -- after two episodes.
Repeats of Work It premiered lower than its canceled predecessor, Man Up, on Jan 3, drawing
a 2.0 in the key adults 18-49 demographic and luring 6.1 million viewers. Its second airing tumbled 20 percent, dropping to a 1.6 in the demo and 5.1 million viewers.
Before its premiere, Work It drew the ire of both Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation
and the Human Rights Campaign, which claimed the series reinforced "false and damaging
stereotypes about transgender people" and urged ABC not to air it.
Woman claims she was fired after wearing prosthetic penis to work
while pondering sex change
SCRANTON, Pa. — A northeastern Pennsylvania woman claims she was fired from her job for
wearing a prosthetic penis to work while contemplating gender reassignment. Pauline Davis
filed a federal civil rights lawsuit Wednesday against J&J Snack Foods Corp. over her termination from the company's plant in Moosic, near Scranton.
Davis says she wore the prosthetic to work as a line inspector, informing some co-workers who
passed in the information along to management. According to the suit Davis was fired even
though the device didn't interfere with her work. Davis' suit claims a male employee undergoing hormone treatments and female clothing was treated more favorably.
Tennessee State Rep Introduces Anti-Trans "Bathroom Bill," Senate
Version Quickly Withdrawn
Tennessee State Rep. Richard Floyd (R) introduced a bill that would punish trans people
with a class C misdemeanor for using a bathroom or dressing room outside of one matching the
gender on their birth certificate. However, Sen. Bo Watson (R) withdrew the Senate version of
the bill on Jan. 12, stating "we have more pressing issues before us," signaling that Floyd's crusade may still fail to find enough support from his own party to move the bill forward -- despite
the large Republican majorities in the state House and Senate.
In a News Channel 5 interview, Floyd said the bill -- House Bill 2279 -- would protect people
like Natalie Johnson, the Texas Macy's employee who contradicted store policy by refusing to
allow a transgender woman from using a woman's dressing room. Macy's fired Johnson, who
cited her religious beliefs for her discriminatory actions.
He then added that he would "stomp a mudhole" into any trans person who dared tried to enter
a dressing room while his wife, daughters and granddaughters were changing, thus
perpetuating the idea of a trans person as a bathroom predator.
Marisa Richmond of the Tennessee Transgender Political Coalition said that in her organiza-
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tion's view, if enacted, the bill would be unconstitutional: "For any gender non-conforming, or
gender variant person, we see this as a violation of their Fourth Amendment rights against unreasonable searches and seizures."
The great Girl Scout cookie row
Its motto is "be prepared." But there's a limit to everything, and at least one young member of
America's Scouting movement is deeply unprepared for its forward-thinking efforts to embrace
modernity. A teenage Girl Scout from southern California has been thrust to the centre of the
culture wars, after starring in a viral video that attacked the organisation's little-known recruitment policy allowing transgendered children to join its ranks.
The 14-year-old girl, who hails from Ventura County, near Los Angeles, is identified only as
Taylor in the five-minute clip. She uses the video to take issue with a decision by a Girl Scout
troop from Colorado to let a seven- year-old child called Bobby Montoya – who was born a boy
but identifies as a girl – become a member.
Taylor complains that the Scout movement "cares more about promoting the desires of a small
handful of people than it does about my safety and the safety of my friends. And they are doing
it with the money we earn for them by selling Girl Scout Cookies." The video was uploaded to
YouTube last week and became a national talking point, not to mention a punchline on the latenight chat-show circuit, where comedians speculated wildly as to what fundamentalist religion
the girl's family belongs.
Indiana Has Nation's First LGBT License Plate
(Indianapolis, Ind.) - Indiana is now the only state in the country to offer license plates promoting awareness of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender causes. The new plates will be available beginning in February throughout the state and feature six hands in red, orange, yellow,
green, blue and purple, which is the logo of the Indiana Youth Group.
That organization provides LGBT training for schools and service agencies and works to promote tolerance. The specialty plate costs an additional $40 with $25 directly benefitting the
group which provides training for schools and service agencies and works to promote tolerance.
172 gender reassignment procedures took place in 2010
New figures from the Department of Health show a rise in the number of sexual transformation
procedures. In the last 12 years the number of procedures in England has risen from 49 in the
year 1999/2000 to 172 in 2010/11.
Most procedures took place in the 40-plus age group with 25 performed in 1999. That number
had risen to 90 by 2010. In 1999 there were four procedures carried out on under-28s and by
2010 that number had risen to 37.
The term procedure also includes prescribing drugs for the transformation process, scans and X-
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rays.
S.C. to offer LGBT specialty plate
COLUMBIA, S.C. — SC Equality, a statewide LGBT education and advocacy group, announced on Wednesday that state motor vehicle officials would begin offering a specialty plate
themed with SC Equality’s name and logo.
The plate will be available on Jan. 30 and will cost $25. Half of the cost goes toward SC Equality, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year. South Carolina’s LGBT-themed specialty plate joins that of Indiana, which announced a similar product this week. Maryland offered the nation’s first LGBT-themed specialty plate in 2008.
Montgomery Co. police: Transgender bill has not led to bathroom rapes
When Baltimore County Council members introduced a bill last night to ban discrimination
against transgender people, much of the testimony focused on public restrooms. Opponents of
the legislation said they feared men dressed as women would assault females in the bathroom.
Apparently, some who are against the legislation are circulating rumors that Montgomery
County has had four such rapes since enacting a transgender anti-discrimination law in 2007.
Montgomery County Police Chief Thomas Manger says that is not true.
“Since this law has been in effect, we have had no reported rapes committed in restrooms by
men in women’s clothing,” Manger wrote Tuesday in a letter to Baltimore County Councilman
Tom Quirk, who is lead sponsor of the anti-discrimination bill.
The Baltimore County bill -- which would prohibit discrimination against transgender people in
housing, workplaces and in public places – is slated for discussion at a Feb. 14 work session.
Santorum Neutral On Transgender Girl Scouts
MT. PLEASANT, S.C. -- Rick Santorum avoided weighing in on the controversy over a transgender Girl Scout at a press conference today aboard the USS Yorktown.
Santorum took a pass when asked his stance on the Girl Scout cookie boycott prompted by the
organization's inclusion of a transgender child in Denver -- specifically, whether or not he
would allow his own children to participate in such a boycott.
He shook his head and said "I don't know anything about that." "I don't think that's a federal
issue," Santorum said.
The response fits into the former senator's efforts of avoiding talking about the social issues that
have at times defined his career, first among them gay rights. In New Hampshire, Santorum was
booed for his responses to questions about gay marriage at a town hall, and has recently made
an effort to soften up his stance on LGBT issues -- for example saying at a debate last week that
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if he had a gay son, "I would love him as much as I did the second before he said it."
European transgender forum to meet in Ireland
EUROPE’S LARGEST FORUM for transgender rights and activism is toconvene in Ireland
later this year. The European Transgender Council will be held in Dublin from September 7 to
9 after the Transgender Equality Network of Ireland won its bid to host the fourth ever meeting.
The conference at Dublin City University is expected to be attended by trans activists, policy
makers and supporters from across Europe. “With over 200 delegates, key note speakers and
panelists, workshops and a diverse cultural programme, the Council sets the agenda for
European trans politics and celebrates Europe’s lively trans community,” the organisers said.
Gov. Patrick signs Trans Rights Bill
An ebullient crowd gathered at the Massachusetts State House on Thursday, Jan. 19 at 11 a.m.
to celebrate Gov. Deval Patrick’s ceremonial signing of the Transgender Equal Rights Bill. The
bill, which was approved by the House on Nov. 15, 2011 and the Senate on Nov. 16, was
signed into law by Gov. Patrick on Nov. 23. The bill legally protects transgender Massachusetts
residents from discrimination in housing, employment and credit.
Nebraska Lawmaker Introduces Legislation to Prohibit Local Anti-Discrimination Ordinances
Nebraska State Senator Beau McCoy (pictured) has introduced legislation that would prohibit
local municipalities across the state from enacting their own anti-discrimination ordinances .
The proposed legislation conflicts with plans by an Omaha City Councilman to protect LGBT
people from discrimination in that city, the World-Herald reports
The conflicting proposals are likely to reignite debate about more than a municipality's rights.
The conversation will center on sexual orientation, the rights of private enterprise, religion and
civil rights.
McCoy has masked his homophobia in a claim he wants consistency in state law: "It just merely
says that if we're going to change the protected classes ... we need to come to the Capitol to do
it so that it's consistent across the state. If it's the right thing to do, it ought to be the right thing
to do border-to-border, not just in one city or municipality."
Chamber: Statewide anti-discrimination law good for business
Salt Lake business leaders are calling for a statewide law banning hiring and housing discrimination against gay, lesbian and transgender individuals — a move supporters see as a major
boost for a bill that has languished in the conservative Legislature.
"We just feel when it comes to [nondiscrimination] we need to have it on a statewide basis,"
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Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce President Lane Beattie said Thursday. "We feel it’s an unwise
policy to have it just limited to certain cities where they end up with a patchwork of followthrough on such an important issue."
Salt Lake City adopted Utah’s first nondiscrimination ordinance in 2009 with the backing of
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Since then, 12 other local governments have
adopted similar policies. But efforts to take the ordinance statewide have fallen flat in Utah’s
conservative Legislature. Last session, Salt Lake City Sen. Ben McAdams was unable to even
get his bill a committee hearing. McAdams has said he plans to bring his bill back this year.
The chamber’s endorsement "really supports the economic development argument of these fairminded policies," she said. A Tribune poll last year showed that two-thirds of Utahns supported a statewide anti-discrimination law. Balken said her group has done polling that puts the
number at three- fourths.
Romney fed the hate
Tax returns show contributions to anti-gay groups.
Presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s charitable foundation gave $35,000 to antigay groups in
2010, including $10,000 to the Massachusetts Family Institute. Massachusetts’ citizens are familiar with the Institute’s efforts to continue discrimination against the transgender community
by running ads claiming that the passage of the trans rights bill would lead to crime in public
bathrooms. The Massachusetts Family Institute is also the organization that sponsored the 2007
anti-same-sex marriage amendment.
CNN has detailed reports on Romney’s charitable giving and notes that $25,000 from Romney’s foundation went to the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty. The Becket Fund defended the
Mormon Church against lawsuits after the church’s involvement in financially backing California’s Proposition 8 was revealed.
The contributions are in stark contrast to the face Romney’s presents during debates and campaign stops. Romney has repeatedly stated that he will not discriminate.
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Shop Untill
You Drop!
Advertisements and Opportunities
Want to advertise your TG-friendly store, service, club, group, or
your own personal items here? There is NO charge for this … just
email the editor barbara.jasen@gmail.com
EnFemme Boutique is a VERY CD and GLBT friendly Ebay store. Nan is the
wife of a Transgendered person, and understands how difficult it can be for some
to purchase items. She started this store for CD, TV, TS and TG’s that do not go
shopping in public, need help with sizing, or finding certain items. It is a place
where you can find items at reasonable prices and ask questions without worry.
All listing are PRIVATE listings, so no one will see what you have purchased.
Most are NEW With Tags and are 70 –90% OFF Retail Prices. This is Nan’s
way of supporting her spouse Amy and the T-Community.
http://stores.ebay.com/enfemme-boutique?refid=store
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http://www.spellcosmetics.com/Home_Page.html
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Endless.com women’s Shoes, Men’s
Shoes, Kid’s shoes, Athletic & Outdoor
Bags & Accessories
http://www.endless.com
We're a Different Kind of Company...
Why? Because we understand non-traditional families share the same traditional bonds of love and respect. We also appreciate the desire of all people
to convey their feelings to those they hold dear. Greeting cards are a vital
means of communication that touch lives, as they distinctly identify
thoughts, words and actions; they comfort, inspire, celebrate, and stir a vast
range of emotions. For years we, too, have felt the void when looking for a
greeting card to express our feelings during life’s special occasions only to
have to edit the available selection. It is this vacancy that inspired us to create our Gay, Lesbian,
Bisexual and Transgender friendly greeting card company.
Why Teazled?... because it’s new. Teazled is a company whose motivation is to pioneer traditional greeting cards for the non-traditional family so that they might also be able to celebrate
those meaningful moments, express their innermost thoughts and communicate with those they
cherish.
We are two nurses, Dina and Dina (Dom), who have seen all sides of life and the wonderment it
holds. We know the most powerful gift is that of communication as we have seen the hardships
caused when we don’t have the words to express our deepest emotions. Don’t let another moment go by.
Tell them... with cards by Teazled.
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http://Glamourboutique.com
The Glamour Boutique is a terrific TG store. You can also order online. Can’t say enough
about this lovely store! A discount is available to Pretty TGirls members and to visitors of my
personal website!
http://Crazy4clipons.com
Crazy 4 Clipons is a terrific online place to discreetly buy clip on earrings at a very reasonable
price. They have a large variety to choose from and love to have TG customers! A discount is
available to Pretty TGirls members and to visitors of my personal website!
Shoe Clips ~ Bridal ~ Vintage ~
Formal ~ Casual
"Fashion For Your Feet"
Take a New Look at the Colorful Past
Shoe Clips are an economical way to transform
and revive your favorite footwear, embellish for a
Special Occasion or bring a little fun to Everyday
Wear.
Simply clip on Rhinestones, Flowers, Feathers, or
Bows for a lasting, fashionable look that's all your
own!
"Shoe Clips Dot Biz" features over 300 Styles
including a huge Vintage selection and many Bridal clips.
http://www.shoeclips.biz
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"Crowning Glory" is now on sale. I believe it is my best book ever. Read
how Aaron and his business partners attempt to win a national advertising
account in a very unconventional way. The cost of the book is $12 including
shipping. To order, contact me at: carollynolson@yahoo.com, or contact my
publisher Mags Inc. (www.magsinc.com) and click on the Reluctant Press
tab.
"Crowning Glory" can also be bundled with "Breaking Point" for an
additional $6, but only through me.
To purchase a signed copy, please send cash, check or money order to:
Carollyn Olson, PO Box 1241, Loomis, CA 95650.
Tricks of the Trade is the fourth book penned by Carollyn, a married,
straight, conservative, 50 year old cross dresser from California.
"Reaching your goal as a woman is the reason I wrote this book. I hope I
have given you the information you need in the following pages to help you
gain insight and confidence in every aspect of your feminine life."
Whether you cross dress full- time, frequently, rarely, or even just in your
thoughts, Carollyn Olson will get you on your way with this new guide full
of practical tips and advice.
The book is $12, including shipping, and can be purchased by contacting
Carollyn (PO Box 1241, Loomis, CA 95650 or carollynolson@yahoo.com)
or Mark (800-359-2116) at MagsInc (magsinc@pacbell.net)
Stress or Desire? $10.00 - by Terri Lynn Richards.
It has been several years since Teri transitioned at work. Her transition
was initiated by her spouse, Jill, because she recognized that "Terry"
would never be completely happy until he became Teri. Jill was aware
of the constant stress in Terry's life and remembered that when they
were dating, Terry had mentioned that at one point in his life, while he
was single, he had attended a Halloween dress-up party, going as the
office secretary.
Stress or Desire is available from Mag Books
http://www.magsinc.com
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http://www.FemmeFever.com
FemmeFever : Karen has developed a wonderful site and TG resource! Along with coordinating many TG events in the lower NY area, she has a store full of shopping opportunities
online.
Welcome to crazydaizys
http://www.crazydaizys.com/servlet/
StoreFront
I carry a large selection of Sexy Shoes &
Boots, Costume Footwear, Lingerie, Hosiery, Leather for Men & Women, & more!
Your 1 stop shop for all your Favorite
things!!
I have Storewide FREE! combined Shipping!
Save @ Crazy Daizys!
Dont see what you are looking for? Contact
me!
http://dspace.dial.pipex.com/hide.sleek/hs_menu.htm
is a wonderful online shop with 2 physical store locations in Scotland as well.
Owned and run by Loraine (a gg) and also sponsors the Miss TV Scotland pageant every year.
Hide and Sleek
http://www.clcrv.com
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Just You (formerly Glamor
Boutique 2)
http://crossdresslasvegas.com
Welcome to Just You, We're a transgender (GLBT, TG) friendly, male to female transformation
and crossdressing service. Our boutique is located in Las Vegas, NV, USA where Amy and her
staff provide products and personalized services to help you become "The Person You Always
Wanted To Be". The Just You Family have years of experience transforming men into beautiful
women.
Visit our crossdressing service for your very own Transformation Makeover, one of our special
Fantasy Transformations, or perhaps even a Tour of Las Vegas En Femme! Inside our boutique
you'll find something for all your crossdressing needs; breast forms, shapewear, corsets, lingerie, shoes, dresses, wigs, makeup and so much more.
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Request for Transgender Identification Card
ALL information is required. Please print clearly.
*Starred fields must match with the legal document.
Date of request: ____/_____/______Email Contact:_____________________________
*Legal name: (Last, First, Initial [opt.]) ________________________________________
En Femme name: (Last, First)______________________________________________
*Driver’s License state: ___________________ *DL Number:_____________________
*Height: _______ Weight: _______lbs.
Tri-Ess Member No. _________________Chapter (Opt)_________________________
Be sure to include:
Head and shoulders picture en homme (preferrably .jpg file)
Head and shoulders picture en femme (preferrably .jpg file)
SASE with sufficient postage to return pictures or disc and ID card
Check, cash, or money order (US funds) for $15.00 payable to “G Cirak”
I hereby certify the above information to be correct and accurate. I understand that incomplete application/
attachments will be returned. I provide the above information, and attached pictures, willingly and authorize them to be used in the creation of a Transgender ID Card. The information supplied is not to be used for
any other purpose, but may be retained for use in providing additional cards to the requester. Tasi Zuriack
and sub-suppliers are released from all damages that might arise from the use of the information provided
or the use of said Transgender ID Card.
Signed:
Date:
Please mail this completed document, your CD or floppy picture files (or pictures to be scanned and returned,)
along with your payment to:
Tasi Zuriack
1521 Luz de Sol Dr
El Paso TX 79912
Thank you for your order!
Questions can be e-mailed to: mailto:tasidevil@yahoo.com .
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Austin’s Angels … by Jamie Austin
can’t say enough really terrific things about Jamie. Simply put, he works wonders. Careful
though, he has done such a wonderful job that several girls have seen how wonderfully beautiful they can be that they have become full time girls! Jamie offers several different makeover
packages … well worth every penny girls !
http://www.austinsangels.com
http://www. countessascloset.com
This is a fabulous place for GG’s and TGirls alike. Countessa is a GG, former model, and a
terrific supporter of the Transgendered Community ! There is an online store and a physical
location in Studio City, California. More to follow about this great Lady and her offerings.
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bru
ary
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