[Adrian]

I wonder how short these posts can get before everyone forgets completely what we are talking about!!! :woohoo:

[Adrian]

November 2016

[Adrian]

“Surely the aim of all of us to approximate as closely as possible to the real feminine existence otherwise why are we bothering to dress etc.”
If only the world was that simple. Everyone nicely jumping in a box called “real feminine” or “real male”.

The likely truth however is that many of the behaviors adopted in the quest to pass are not behaviours of a typical woman. That “real feminine existence” doesn’t actually exist in our contemporary world. The things we focus on when we first set out to dress are what we imagine a perfect woman to be… high heels, stockings, long hair, ample bosom, short skirts, sexy underwear, historical fashions from a time when women were more feminine…….and so on. Because this perfect woman doesn’t exist in reality we so often set our selves up to be read as a man trying to be some stereotypical girlie magazine pin-up… and not doing it very well.

Personally I no longer dress to be that perfect female…Throw away that desire to “pass” as a perfect woman and you find that you can express your inner femininity in jeans and a T-shirt. If passing is striving to achieve an image found in glossy magazines but not in K-Mart then it is a problem.

Increasingly people are looking to express their true gender in public. I see that as a very good thing. It is what most natal women do all the time! If we value being genuine over acting out these gender stereotypes then others will find it much easier to understand and relate to us.

[Adrian]

Sara,
Thanks for sharing another view on passing; passing as an invitation to others to treat you as a lady.

In her article Rachel highlights the problem when passing is used to judge how well someone has transitioned. If instead we see passing as something we do to help others understand our preferred gender then we neatly sidestep that problem.
But we can’t side step round the issue of cis-normality if passing is deliberately presenting as male or female.

If passing is the process of trying to convincingly project an image of “I want to be treated as a lady” or visa versa then we are subconsciously reinforcing the view that only man or woman are valid expressions. In other words we re-enforce society’s view that everyone should be one or the other, and anything else is weird.

I posted Rachel’s article in part because she writes it from the mid-field. Like me, she doesn’t see herself as cis-normal. I may try to present as a woman, but when I do it is a deception, no more accurate than me presenting as a man. As Rachel says:

Quote:

the concept of passing implies that we are trying to “pass ourselves off” as something we are not.

For many of us presenting a stereotypical gender that does not reflect the richness of our inner gender is just acting. We will never be freed from the constraints society puts on our gender expression if we persist in presenting to them in a reassuring comfortable way. Expressing your true gender identity is not transgressing anything except the shackles of cis-normality.

So the more people who stop acting out a cis-normal role and instead project their genuine gender identity – then the sooner society will reevaluate exactly what constitutes a transgression.

[Adrian]

October 2016

Nearly a full house this month – 9 places taken

[Adrian]

Bree wrote:

Hi ladies
A question on dosage if I may please.

I’ve never specifically taken PM, though in my past I’ve taken plenty of expensive herbal concoctions that seemed to have more side effects than the desired outcome.

So let me comment on the gamble others take with their health. The optimum dose for PM is widely stated on the internet at about 600-800mg / da y. (for example this site). All the data (what they call studies) appears to be based on genetic females, and so any recommendation of a safe dose is presumably also for females. The vendors of PM point out that genetic males have fewer estrogen receptors and so the product may not work as well. Certainly the reports in this forum indicate it doesn’t have an effect on everyone.

There appears to be many people significantly overdosing and I do question if they have thought seriously about what they might be doing to their body. If you want a greater effect you probably need to take an anti-androgen (this is a component of all medically prescribed HRT). Overdosing on PM is not an alternative to anti-androgen therapy. A higher dose won’t create any more estrogen receptors as far as I know.

Worse still there is no data about what short and long term harm you may be doing to your body by ingesting large quantities of PM. Without a GP monitoring your kidney and liver function you are exposed to developing very serious and possibly life threatening illness. I can’t image that any responsible GP would support taking PM so you are completely on your own health-wise.

If that wasn’t bad enough – PM isn’t exactly cheap. At 1000mg per day the herb will set you back about $4.40 a week. Overdosing at 4 x 500mg per day is going to cost you more than the cost of medically supervised HRT (which would give you much better known health outcomes – and probably far more breast growth).

Of course we all have to make a call about how we resolve any issues we have between our desired body image, need for fertility, and the depth of the bank balance. But poisoning yourself and making the “dietary supplement” vendors rich in the process seems to be a poor choice to me.

[Adrian]

As we seem to have segued from France, Europe, Australia to the ACT perhaps I can add my view on sterilisation, gender and sex.

But first a warning to anyone reading this thread in the future that legislation is in a state of flux and steady progress is being made in a trans-friendly direction. So what you read here may not be the current situation for you.

We always seem to gravitate from a discussion of sterilisation and gender change to birth certificates. For most of the transgender community (particularly F2M) gender change is a far more significant issue than altering a birth certificate.

Let’s back-off to thinking about gender, particularly as it affects someone who is attempting to spend more of their life expressing their true gender identity.

Quote:

As of 1 July 2013, the Australian government has adopted the Australian Government Guidelines on the Recognition of Sex and Gender which standardise the evidence required to establish or change your sex or gender in all personal records held by Australian Government departments and agencies. These guidelines specifically state:

“Sex reassignment surgery and/or hormone therapy are not pre-requisites for the recognition of a change of gender in Australian Government records.”

All Australian Government departments and agencies are required to progressively align their existing and future business practices with these Guidelines by 1 July 2016.This includes Centrelink, Medicare, the Passport Office, the Australian Taxation Office (ATO), Roads and Traffic Authorities, Police and any other Australia government departments.

To correct your sex marker with any Australian Government department or agency all you need is any one of the following:

a) a statement from a Registered Medical Practitioner or a Registered Psychologist (general registration) or
b) a valid Australian Government travel document, such as a valid passport, which specifies your preferred gender or
c) a state or territory birth certificate; or recognised details of a certificate showing your preferred gender.

Please note that changing your birth certificate is only one of the three available options.

For instance, to get a passport issued in your preferred gender there is no prerequisite for sex reassignment surgery. Birth or citizenship certificates do not need to be amended for to be issued a passport in your preferred gender. The Passport office has very good advice how to do this, and once again, does not require sterilisation.
https://www.passports.gov.au/passportsexplained/theapplicationprocess/eligibilityoverview/Pages/changeofsexdoborpob.aspx

This means that in Australia you can change your gender on all the documents without having sterilization except…..
……for birth certificates.
The BMD registries are managed by state governments so the rules do differ. I personally have some sympathy with a view that says that because birth certificates record your sex – which bits you had when you were born – you need to change the physical situation to change the record. It seems to me unrealistic to expect to be able to change your sex on a birth certificate without sex-affirmation surgery (aka sterilisation) .

Which splits the community into two.

Those who don’t have surgery/sterilisation have an anatomy that is in agreement with an unaltered birth certificate. They can have every other government record corrected to show a preferred gender. And their past life is a secret till they have a strip search or try to get married. But the plus side is that any pre-existing marriages can remain (unless you choose to divorce), and you can have children.

Those who decide to have surgery are sterilised and so the issue highlighted in this forum thread is not relevant. They are able to change the sex marker on their birth certificate in every state. But the effect of this on pre-existing marriages will (until we have legal same-sex marriage) depend on individual state law.

The move by the ACT to allow birth certificates to be changed without sterilisation does seem to be a bit ambiguous. Their web site says:

Quote:

An application must be accompanied by a statutory declaration from a doctor or psychologists stating that you have received appropriate clinical treatment to change your sex or that you are intersex.

. To be honest, until there is a federal position on same-sex marriage I think it muddies the situation rather than making things better.

[Adrian]

The map below shows the sterilization status in European countries as of May this year.

The situation may be improving in some European countries but the Trans Rights Europe Map indicates the stark differences that still exist. In 24 countries, marked in red on the map, transgender people are required to undergo genital removal surgery and sterilization before they can legally change gender.

The countries marked in blue do not require genital removal surgery and sterilization while those marked brown do not have reliable procedures in place.

With the recent news France should be coloured blue now.

[Adrian]

Thanks to Hazel (and Megan) for keeping the tradition alive in September – but no photo.

[Adrian]

We had Skype communication built into the previous chat room, and before that video hook-up facilities in an earlier room. (http://forum.tgr.net.au/cms/forum/F145/217-how-about-a-web-cam-enabled-chat-room#13361) But to my knowledge no one used it other than some playing around when it was first installed. I suspect that many members are not prepared to be ‘camera ready’ at all times for a chat.

The current chatroom doesn’t have video capability.
I suspect I’m not alone in not wanting to spread my Skype-id around in public (particularly since I don’t have or want multiple Skype accounts).
Obviously we could upgrade to a chat room that does include video – there are plenty of them. But they all come with a hefty monthly cost – and I’m not sure where the $$$ would come from…..and if it would be used enough to justify the expenditure.

That said – I do find it much easier to chat to people on a video hook-up…but it is also more time consuming as you can’t multi-task doing something else in another window.

[Adrian]

It is 2017 and so time to start planning for the eighth Transformal in May. Each year I start with the suggestions made by guests last year, add a few ideas that have cropped up in the last few months, collect offers of help, stir vigorously, and see what pops out of the pot.

If you have an idea you would like to throw in the pot then I’m always keen to hear it. I’m even keener if you want to volunteer to organise a part of the weekend. Whether it is a workshop, a restaurant visit, or a breakout discussion just share your ideas please.

Please message me (adrian) through TgR or send me an email to adrian@tgr.net.au.

I look forward to your help in making 2017 the best Transformal so far!

[Adrian]

Adrian wrote:

TransFormal 2017 will be held at The Carrington Hotel, Katoomba on
Friday 19th, Saturday 20th and Sunday 21st May 2017

It is very likely that the Ultra-Trail Run will be held on the same weekend as TransFormal 2017. Anyone planning to attend TransFormal would be advised to reserve accommodation as soon as possible, and certainly not leave it till the last month when availability may be very restricted,

I can confirm that Transformal 2017 will clash with the Ultra-Trail Run this year. This means that the supply of affordable and convenient accommodation will dry up rapidly. If you intend to stay outside the Carrington Hotel you would be well advised to make a reservation NOW!!

If you intend to stay in the Carrington Hotel you can reserve a room in advance as described in my earlier post. Note that Traditional Rooms cannot be reserved in advance, and that reservations for other rooms may not be held unless you confirm them by purchasing a TF17 ticket when they go on sale.

[Adrian]

Abi_66 wrote:

Hopefully next year

I don’t ever put my money on there being a “next year”… so I’ll be there on Saturday night enjoying the present. The forecast at the moment is for a balmy dry evening – just perfect for being down by the water.

[Adrian]

A reminder…

The November Glebe cafe night is on Friday 25th November. This is the night before Transfusion. So special arrangements apply….

BOOKINGS FOR NOV GLEBE ARE NOW OPEN
Anyone planning to travel to Sydney for Transfusion will be very welcome at the warm-up event in Glebe. But please let Adrian know as soon as possible so we can ensure you have a place.
All the details are here

[Adrian]

Caroline wrote:

How to get there ?
….
3. By Car ( especially if you from a group) is best option if you arrive early and can get a metered spot along Hickson Road . Metred Parking also available in Argyle st under the Harbour Bridge approaches.

In addition to the metered parking along Hickson Road mentioned by Caroline, there is also a reasonably priced Wilson car park underneath the new Bangaroo Headland Park. The entrance to Barangaroo Reserve Car Park is off Towns Place.
https://www.wilsonparking.com.au/park/2266_Barangaroo-Reserve-Car-Park_Barangaroo-Point
After 5pm there is a flat $10 rate at the weekend. And the car park is within easy walking distance of the Wharf Theatre.

Don’t confuse it with the Wilson Barangaroo Point Car Park which has its entrance off Hickson Road in the cutting. This car park is more expensive at $14 for the night.