Adrian
Forum Replies Created
-
Any length that potentially causes embarrassment to others is too short IMHO.
No matter how good your legs are, the glamour of the look will be cheapened by too much on display.
The solution is simple – get a pair of leggings (not tights) and wear the dress as a tunic. -
The Danish Girl is billed as a true love story, which may be good marketing as the cinema was nearly full when I saw the film. But it would be more accurate to say that the plot is loosely based on the life story of one of the first transsexuals to attempt sex reassignment surgery.
And rather than documenting the blossoming of love between two people it explores how that love is challenged and eventually destroyed by the relentless drive of a transsexual to become a woman.The film starts with two artists (Einar and Gerda) in a happy loving relationship and finishes with the happiness of Einar in her new body as Lili.
Though the Danish Girl is set in the min-1920’s it speaks to contemporary issues that many of us have faced in reconciling our relationships with the need to express our gender. Because the drama of the plot is so immediate to us you may find the film deeply moving – I certainly did.
I approached the film expecting to find annoying mistakes in Eddie Redmayne’s portrayal of a transsexual – I hardly expect a cis-gendered actor to get it right.
So I found it disarming that Einar’s struggle with his femininity was so convincing that it was like seeing snapshots of my life, and in the character of Lili I frequently had flash-backs of familiar faces from our community.
The film touched on so many aspects of a transgender life, good and not so healthy. Frequently it was in the small details where I saw a reflection of my own experiences.
It showed the irresistible drive to express our femininity – often catching loved ones by surprise,
the way we study other women and so modify our behaviours,
our naivety in assuming that we are fooling others with our femininity,
and the impatience to complete our journey evidenced by overdosing on hormones.The Danish Girl paints the medical profession in a very poor light. It was painful to watch the inappropriate treatments they came up with for the transsexual condition. Although it shows how far we have come in the last 100 years, it highlights behaviours that you can still observe in contemporary practice. How many more years will we have to wait?
A film just following the journey of Einar into Lili would have provided a good insight into the transgender struggle for anyone interested.
But the Danish Girl is about not one, but two Danish girls.
Gerda’s reactions to finding her husband transexual will probably speak powerfully to most cinema audiences. Alicia Vikander as Gerda gives a convincing portrayal of the emotional roller coaster rise we so often give our partners. Although, she comes across as the injured party, loosing a husband and his love, her unwavering support to the end is a very positive message to send to the audience.
I can unreservedly recommend that everyone should see the Danish Girl.
It can be an emotional experience so take a hankie.
I expect it will be a seminal movie in promoting a wider understanding of the transgender experience. -
November 2015
-
As this post is under Media-Watch and refers to a BBC News article
Could we perhaps now discuss the media article and not the general concept of gender????? -
Sammie_1 wrote:I want to go out as the woman I think I should have been born. I guess my preferred style of 50s dresses and pinup fashion, my idea of a woman however has been stereotypically re-enforced by conservative and sexist society.
Sammie,
My journey of gender exploration is littered with things that I latched on as being critical to my being gendered in public as female.
It started with a fixation that ‘everyone’ would see my adam’s apple and gender me male – this lead to a vast collection of neck scarves. But this was in a time when few people wore scarves and so it only served to attract attention.
Continuing the list would really be more appropriate in fun stuff than here, but it finished (I hope) with a fixation on makeup being ‘essential’.
At the time, each thing was of the ultimate importance when I went out, and was critical to my feeling confident. In time each fixation was exposed as being far more an issue for me than it was for others.
Fixation on voice is just one thing I’ve discarded on the way.
The reality is that we don’t know what clues people use to gender others. And whilst society persists in gendering as male or female we are bound to give a few surprises when the initial choice doesn’t match a later experience (such as when we open our mouth).
I would suggest that the more unusual your appearance, the more critically people will look at you before gendering you, and so the more likely it is that they will latch on the unusual (such as that deep voice).
If you want the confidence that flows from others recognising and acknowledging your femininity in public then give strong visual clues that are consistent with contemporary fashion and lifestyles. 50s dresses and pinup fashion is a great look – but with less style you may find the voice is less of an issue.
And on a fun, seasonal note.
I have always enjoyed singing – I’m a pretty competent bass.
So on Xmas day at church I’m dressed in a nice top and slacks – singing con gusto the bass line to the carols.
Do I care – no!
Voice training could never make me into a coloratura! -
On a couple of occasions well meaning acquaintances have let me know that I should “work on my voice”. Although I try to avoid shouting (hard in a noisy club) I’ve been reluctant to talk in what I see as an affected way. My journey is one of becoming “me” and so changing “me” to suit the cultural sensitivities of others doesn’t seem genuine.
The urge to change ourselves to fit more comfortably into cultural norms of male and female is something we all experience to a greater or lesser degree. Is the need to “blend in” driven by a insecurity and a lack of confidence, or is it the other way round? Does the presentation of a more conforming binary image lead to improved confidence? Probably a bit of both.
If I’m going to be brutally honest, on reflection, many of the obsessions of contemporary trangender life look a lot less like “expressing your true gender” and more like “acting out a culturally accepted role”.
I started my journey crossdressing convinced that all I was doing was acting – the wig, the nails, the heavy makeup, the deliberately female costume. Acting is fine for an occasional evening out, but if expressing your self becomes a part of your life then acting isn’t the way to go.
If your gender expression actually causes embarrassment and distress to others then perhaps there is a strong case to change your image. Voice training in such circumstances is probably a valuable exercise. But it shouldn’t just be one of the tick boxes on the transgender journey – something you do because you think it will make you a better, more genuine, person.
-
I could answer and explain that just because we have “transgender rights” doesn’t mean we only think of ourselves, and sometimes better outcomes for all of us may come from showing some sensitivity to others. But discussion about Transformal is so far from the original topic of this thread I would be commenting way off thread. What has unisex toilets possibly got to do with brain sex?
If anyone is interested in understanding the complexity of organising Transformal then post away in the TransFormal threads and I’ll try to illuminate. But please keep this thread for the original topic.
-
ClaireStafford wrote:Just a thought, does adding photos count as a contribution?
Adding photos that people like counts…same as post in the forum people like. I try to encourage quality as most members have plenty of pictures!
-
October 2015
-
In the article that started this thread I suggested that
Quote:it would be a mistake to assume that [awareness]automatically leads to acceptance.
An article in the Guardian perhaps lends some credibility to my views.
http://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/nov/06/transgender-murders-double-2015-united-statesTransgender murders in US have nearly doubled since last year, activists say
Quote:The number of murders of transgender people in the United States hit a record high this year, activists said on Friday, amid outcry over rising violence in the transgender community.Quote:The violence could be tied to growing attention toward transgender people such as the recent coming out of Olympic gold medalist Caitlyn Jenner, said Kevin Nadal, head of the Center for LGBTQ Studies at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York.“In general if you look at history a lot of times, whenever there are positive moves for historically marginalised groups there tends to be a backlash,” he said.
Community activists and organizers agree.
Alok Vaid-Menon, an organizer with the Audre Lorde Project, told the Guardian that the presence of transgender and gender nonconforming people in the media has lead to greater outrage over their existence in society at large, and has also increased the pressure for others to come out as trans when it may not be safe for them to do so.
-
Back on topic…
The Guardian reports that Tara has been moved.
http://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/oct/30/transgender-woman-moved-from-mens-to-womens-prison
Quote:Tara Hudson has been transferred from HMP Bristol to Eastwood Park in Gloucestershire, according to Jackie Brooklyn.The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) refused to confirm the move on Friday night, but released a statement making it clear that it had the discretion to carry out a transfer and would place prisoners in a way that made their welfare the top priority.
Brooklyn said her daughter was “a lot happier” after the move. Describing her relief at her daughter’s move, she added that she would sleep well tonight “at long last”.
The transfer came after a judge called for a rethink of where Hudson was made to serve the 12-week sentence she was given for an assault committed late last year.
-
An example of the thinking of the fundamentalist religious right wing in the USA.
Denise Shick runs Help4Families
Quote:Denise has become a spokesperson for families who have a loved one who cross dresses or lives the life of transsexual. Denise has been married for 25 years and has raised four children. She realizes the impact on families and the world influence that comes under the family. She understands and can witness to the long- term effects this has had or on families. Denise addresses these issues that are not typically addressed in church settings; yet the standards for holiness and faithfulness within the life of the Christian are fully maintained.She seeks to counsel people to help them lovingly condemn their transgender family members.
With that sort of support being offered you have to feel glad we live in Australia. At least fundamentalist religious views here are kept well in check. And we get far more informed support. -
FionaP wrote:I live in mortal terror of the police. I can’t afford to have a crime committed against me. Sydney police were great. I miss them, but Brisbane ones? *shudder*
The topic of this thread is the gender recognition of prison inmates. Can we please stick to that.
-
FionaP wrote:I daresay things could be as bad in Australia.
Instead of assuming the worst why not do a bit of research?
The situation in NSW as I understand it is about as good as you could reasonably expect.http://www.gendercentre.org.au/resources/policies/management-of-transgender-inmates.htm
-
Tahlia wrote:Surely we have people with the skills to act as photographer for the event.
Quite simply there is an unreasonable conflict of interest. Anyone who comes to Transformal as a guest doesn’t expect to spend 3 or more hours on the Saturday night staring down a camera lens and missing out on the fun. We have tried many options over the years – but by far the best has been to engage a professional at an appropriate rate. Which is what we are endeavoring to do at the moment.