Anya
Forum Replies Created
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Met the organisers recently – they’re great; so have signed up
Note to self – 6 weeks to get into shape for non-stop dancing up/ sideways L/ down/ sideways R/ etc. all along Oxford St and beyond. -
Perth is definitely the answer! It’s fast getting better over here, however we really do need reinforcements to help tame some of the more challenging bucking broncos over here in the wild west.
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Moss! Trans-allies extraordinaire!!
Belle was a force of nature, who packed so much into such a short life. Shows you the power of getting out there.
https://radio.adelaide.edu.au/moss-susan-craig-mark-simpkin/
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More pics –
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Some pictures I was fortunate to take during the parade –
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For those who didn’t see it, SBS included a great segment in their summary of the parade –
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=40Xut5L5fhk&feature=youtu.be
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Tim is superb – sent a good friend around there recently, who came out really impressed with his advice – hair totally “hit the spot”.
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What a great story!
As for your wish – that there are more folk around like Elizabeth – my growing experience is that your wish may already be true.
Seems like the real keys to your success here were your own self-confidence and openness.
Within the past year, I’ve finally summed up the courage to tell my favourite cousin. She responded by explaining that she felt privileged that I had been able to bestow my trust in her to this extent.
Her response made me realise that I could have told her several decades ago! It has also given me the confidence to go on and tell several others – all with positive outcomes so far.
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Is being transgendered a conscious choice? Like others, I’ve often scratched my head about this one. My simple take is that it would be wonderful if it was. Overall, I’d err on the side of simplifying my life by choosing to walk away from this transgender stuff.
Having “failed” miserably in that regard, it seems to me that I have a “hardwired” female identity. And as a consequence, like most other folk here, I guess, I live with a personal sense of dissonance, “dysphoria” perhaps, between my sense of self and the reality of what was declared by the first person who threw a glance in the general direction of my groin.
The dissonance eases when I express myself as female. On some occasions there may also be an initial sense of euphoria, but this settles and gives way to a generally more comfortable sense of self. Gender expression, in contrast to gender identity, is something that I think I have some choice over. The drive to express myself socially as female has progressively increased over time, but I still have some choice.
Then there’s the question of how we chose to express ourselves when we’re interacting socially – behaviours, speech patterns, dress codes, body modifications, etc. Personally, it seems that I’ve been able to get away with more “feminine” behaviours – even as an adolescent in a boys school (to which my parents were very keen to send me). But, numerous childhood experiences alerted me to the value of keeping a lid on anything else that challenged people’s view of me as a boy.
So, driven by a strong sense of social restraint all around me, I exercised choice to be selective about what I expressed and when.
Then there is the issue of the extent of the underlying imperative to align identity with reality, which for many seems to rise up and overwhelm any sense of choice. The imperative or “drive” aspect fascinates me – it clearly varies enormously from person to person. And, within some people at least, it also seems to fluctuate overtime.
Anyway, I think I should stop here so that I don’t risk heading into aspects that are beyond the immediate topic.
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Bearing in mind the overall value of the weekend as unique opportunity to get to know a whole lot of wonderful people, I am very willing to pay the price suggested.
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Bearing in mind that makeup is all about illusion, I’ve found that nothing beats getting expert personal advice on something as central as foundation.
There are several variables to consider, including the particular characteristics of your skin and the nature of the foundation in question.
At the high end, nothing seems to beat getting a “makeover” from an experienced makeup artist in a MAC store. MAC are choosy about who they employ. Best ring beforehand. Be totally upfront and explain that you need some good advice. Usually, they’ll be equally upfront and friendly, letting you know if; when, and where they can accommodate you. Alternatively, they may be able to point you in the direction of a makeup artist known to them, who they think would be likely to help.
Otherwise, in my experience, there are always a few professional makeup artists around who specialise in weddings and/ or modelling and who are also comfortable offering helpful insights to trans folk. As there are at least a couple of fabulously experienced makeup artists here in Perth who have been very helpful to many of us, I have little doubt that Sydney will have several.
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Hi Michelle,
A quick note to say hello and that it’s actually OK be blonde.
Here, at least, you can just be yourself. Have fun.
Best wishes,
Anya
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Continuing on from Sarah and Cali’s comments, I’ve copied below two links. The first is to a speech made by Lana Wachowski recently in San Francisco when the Human Rights Campaign announced that she was the recipient of their “Visibility Award”. I imagine that many of you will have seen this youtube clip already, however I have to admit that I don’t think that I will ever tire of Lana’s message and her exquisite communication skills…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=crHHycz7T_c
And for those of you who are interested, the second link is to a sequele from the same HRC event – Bishop Gene Robinson thanking Lana for letting people know who she really is:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBmyIOlgF6s
Seems like the world really is changing around us!
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Agree totally. Caroline, well done for finding Connie.
Honorary Permanent TgR Photographer?
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After this TF weekend, my third, I can safely say that this event keeps getting better and better.
The growing range of activities surrounding the Transformal evening, which offer lots of little spaces to chat informally with others and make new friends, have just about become the main event.
Many thanks to Amanda and everyone else who combined forces to make all this happen.
Anya
