Bluegrass BelleView April 1998

Steak-Out: Saturday, April 18th

We have reservations for YOU at Dillon's Steakhouse, 2101 S. Hurstbourne Parkway, Louisville, KY. , for 7:30 PM, Saturday, April 18. If you've never been to Dillon's, well, you're in for a treat. They have terrific steaks and charbroiled foods, served in a casual atmosphere. Separate checks have been arranged. Take the Hurstbourne Parkway South exit from I-64, and Dillon's will be 3 blocks south on your left. It's one block north of Taylorsville Rd. And, for those of you who aren't used to being out in public, don't worry - Dillon's is very welcoming, and a member of the group will be waiting for you near the entrance to ease your passage.






Our New Treasurer And WebMistress!

Erica Miller has agreed to take over the duties of Treasurer, and we have established a local bank account for the group. She will be working the door, collecting the meeting fee, and making a monthly report to the group as to our financial status. This is very important, since we want all in the group to understand exactly where their dues money is going. RuthAnn Asmus has kindly agreed to take over the website; and she will be making some changes in the page that will be interesting to the community. Of course, to be a part of the Board, you must only volunteer.




Lobby Days: April 19-21

Want to make your voice heard in Washington? A number of us are leaving for Washington, DC on the morning of April 19 for the 1998 GenderPAC Lobby Days. We will have a number of appointments already made with Members of Congress from Indiana and Kentucky. Contact Angela, Anne, or Dawn if you are interested. Hurry, hotel rooms and plane reservations are limited!




Tom Owen for Mayor of Louisville

By Anne Casebeer

In order to pass any sort of legislation locally that would protect the transgendered, we need desperately to clean the dead wood out of the Louisville and Jefferson County government. Polls taken during the 1997Fairness Campaign indicated support of over 70% for passage of laws protecting the GLBT community; yet the Louisville Board of Aldermen didn't listen. One person who did was Dr. Tom Owen, who is now running for Mayor of Louisville in the Democratic Primary. Dr. Owen is an interesting candidate, a man who marches to his own drummer, and should serve well as our Mayor. He's a historian, holding a Ph.D. He has taught at University of Louisville, UK, and Jefferson Community College, and is an expert on the history of Louisville. He's served as 3rd District Alderman since 1990, and co-sponsored the Fairness Amendment in 1997. He led the fight to create citywide recycling, and supports construction of a local light rail transit system. Alderman Owen is dedicated to fighting crime at the neighborhood level, and wants to streamline city services Most of all, he wants Louisville to be a truly welcoming community to all.

There is no other mayoral candidate who comes close to Alderman Owen's level of education, record of service, and positions on the issues that interest us all. His opponent, David Armstrong, the present Jefferson County Judge-Executive, is publicly opposed to Fairness. For this reason, I would like to recommend that all of our members who vote in the City of Louisville consider Dr. Owen on Primary Election Day on May 26, and do publicly give Dr. Owen the endorsement of the BelleView.

With No Apologies...

By Dawn Wilson

Warm Weather Dreaming, Part 1

As spring begins to arrive, my thoughts turn to lighter weight clothes, and what to wear. Not only what to wear casually, but what to wear at work. Just as you are judged by your appearence the first day you interview for the job, you are also judged by your appearance on the job. A local transsexual friend and I were at lunch when a person we did not know walked past. The "woman" was wearing heavy make up, 3.5 inch heels and a 2pc dress. She looked absolutely horrible. It took me until the following Saturday night to find out who she was; a pre-op who is working at Ashland Oil, and is the butt of jokes, even among other TS's. From what I understand she has the "I know more than you, so butt out" syndrome. My friends had spoken to her on several occasions, but she still didn't get it. Sounds familar, doesn't it.

Well, many of the TS's quickly became tired of it, and remedied the situation! She was dragged screaming and kicking to my friend Alex's version of a finishing school, where we applied the works. Of course, I was there with my whip. It was an extreme situation for this person. She was stripped and whipped, and after about 20 lashes. she broke. When she returned to work, no one recognized her. She was actually a pretty girl that just needed help.

I said all of this to make this point: To be able to blend in society, you have to wear the right clothes. Not necessarily expensive ones, just quality ones. Remember this lesson, especially with our trip to Washington coming up. You are judged on your appearance when you go out in society, and you should dress appropriately for the weather conditions and what you are doing.

Busy Times

The weekend of April 18 will be a very busy one for me . First I will be attending a high society gathering in honor of the Robert H. Williams Cultural Center, of which I am a trustees and chairperson. I will then leave that fundraiser to join the BGB at our regular meeting. Then I will board a jet

with the 3rd Ky. Lobbying Brigade, to mount an assault on the nation's capital. (I told Sen. Jesse Helms that I would be back!) So as you can see, I will be busy1

There's Work To Be Done

As I prepare to write this post, my heart is heavy after being insulted by 2 members of the TG community. They were two people I respected until now, but never again! I had a long conversation with Mandy Carter. Mandy, myself and other LGBT leaders have come to the conclusion that there are some people who are not going to deal on the level with any of us. We need to deal with a lot of issues, race being one, and protest mistreatment where needed.

As many of you know, I was attending the IFGE convention dinner, when a racist joke was told on stage. I am thankful for the support of all in attendence, and I confronted the comedian and let him know exactly how I felt about his so-called "joke." . It was bad enough that I was one of only 2

African-Americans in the whole convention, but it is the 2nd time a problem like this has happened in my presence, and I am not comfortable with it.

From this point on out, I am making it my mission to help as many of my African- American transgendered brothers and sisters out of the closet. Transgenderism is not a white thing or a black thing, it is a human thing! You see, I am tired of taking all the abuse, and now it is payback time! I will be at Southern Comfort as on a speaker and a presenter. It is my goal to have more than 20 African, Asian, and Hispanic persons of color there!

Love

Dawn Josephine Wilson




KEEP AMERICA BEAUTIFUL

By Jennifer Comer

For a number of years, this has been a staple motto of the United States.This column is devoted to applying the same principles to our Community.

MAKEUP PART 4: AFTER THE FOUNDATION, BROWS & BLUSH

Lots of progress on the eyes by now! With no makeup help elsewhere, they really stand out at this point!

So on to your eyebrows. This can be a troublesome area if you have heavy, dark brows when in male mode. These brows don't look effeminate at all (unless you are a Brooke Shields double), and curvaceous manicured brows don't look appropriate in male mode. This is a problem!

Most seem to recommend a very gradual thinning of the unwanted areas - like over 6 months to a year. That way, it is unlikely that anyone will notice the change except you. This will probably require precise purposeful planning on your part so that any present plucking proceeds slowly, but parts previously plucked are kept plucked At any rate, it appears best to do most plucking from the lower portions of the brow, plucking from the upper border only to smooth the edge. If you don't have too many remaining stray brow hairs, they can be adequately covered with the beard-cover foundation and will show only under the closest of scrutiny (do you really intend to get that close?). I also pluck any overly long brow hairs.

Theoretically, perfect brows are supposed to start at an imaginary vertical line from the innermost corner of your upper lid, and end at the intersection of an imaginary line from the corner of your nose to the outermost corner of your upper lid (a picture would be worth a thousand words here). To make your eyes appear further apart, start your brows just outside the imaginary vertical line; to make your eyes appear closer together, start your brows just inside the imaginary vertical line. The art of illusion.

I have read about using eyebrow wax to plaster down the unwanted sections of brow. If brow wax used, these areas are then to be coated with the beard-cover foundation. I have no experience with this method; neither have I found brow wax on the makeup counters that I frequent (although I'm sure it's there somewhere). It seems to me that this would be more than a little tedious to accomplish.

If you have lighter brows, they can be darkened and shaped with an eyebrow pencil with good effect. Since this method is the one most commonly utilized by GGs, it is rather unlikely that anyone will notice. The pencil should be sharp and applied in short strokes, as though you are drawing individual brow hairs, to be maximally effective (although I notice precious few GGs doing this). There are a number of shades of eyebrow pencils available. Don't choose a shade that is unnecessarily dark, or your brows will stand out too much for day wear. Ask the opinion of a (relatively) unbiased friend, or take snapshots and analyze them as objectively as you can.

Your Blusher shades also need to be carefully chosen and not overly intense for day wear, the same hues but more intense for evening wear, and nearly anything imaginable for party wear. Whether the most appropriate underlying blush coloration is in a shade of orange or of blue/violet (the true reds and plums), is determined by your skin tones. The Color Me Beautiful book (not a plug, but it is worth the money) is very helpful for determining the best hues for you in makeup and clothing (and provides recommendations for general clothing styles that are most flattering to your figure type). It also discusses hair styles that best complement your individual facial characteristics. The author divides skin and hair shade combinations into two groups of two groups: the COOL groups (true reds; plums) include Summer and Winter, and the WARM groups (orange undertones) include Spring and Fall. Some of the makeup manufacturers (Cover Girl for one) use the same classification system. If you are unable to find the book, just buy a blush with definitively orange tones (Warm) and a blush with definitively plum tones (Cool) - and try each. One will look terrible on you, the other at least acceptable. This will place you into the proper coloration category from which you will be able to select other blushes and select lipstick shades. You can use the other on Halloween.

I generally purchase the blusher compacts that contain 3 intensities of the same hue. My personal preference is the Cover Girl Trios, however the lightest hue is often best used as a highlighter rather than the base blusher. In an effort to achieve the most natural look, I begin with a separate hue that is lighter than the middle hue of the Trio and only slightly darker than my foundation. I brush this light shade on rather widely, starting each brush stroke near the prominence of my cheekbone (not directly on the prominence, or it will receive too much blush). I begin with shorter straight strokes toward my nose and proceed radially, ending with the longest strokes toward my ear and temple. I extend this light shade fully to the small prominence in front of my ear canal and up to just below my temple, roughly on a line toward the tip of my ear. The mid shade of the Trio comes next, with a much more careful application brushed on as before. The longest strokes should reach the area just below the temple. The darkest hue should be used very sparingly for daytime wear or one may appear overly conspicuous. MOST GGs don't apply blusher heavily for day wear. For your evening wear, simply apply the mid and darkest hues more generously, but be very careful to avoid the "clown" look. "Dead" giveaway! A dusting with loose, transparent powder will tone down an overdone blush only slightly. Remember, you can always add more.

Part 5 will address lipstick and facial feature contouring. Enjoy!

PLEASE feel free to send your experiences and suggestions for inclusion in subsequent articles to daisy_mae3@hotmail.com. Your contribution will be identified by adding your E-mail address. It is NOT necessary 2.B.A. member 2.B a contributor.




WITCH BLAMES SCHOOL, SON, 9, SUSPENDED

March 13, 1998 Toronto Sun

NANAIMO, B.C. - A mother says her son's problems with his elementary school began in September when she divulged she and her transsexual roommate are witches. Shirley Carruthers says when she met school officials to discuss the suspension of her son, Joseph, 9, they noticed a Wiccan pendant around her neck and asked her what religion she practised. "Since then it's been nothing but problems," she said in an interview this week. School official Donna Reimer denied the claim, saying the board does not ask the religion of parents or students. "We have a lot of diversity in our schools," she said. "Our goal is totreat people of diverse backgrounds in a respectful way."

BROUGHT KNIFE TO CLASS

Joseph was suspended when he took a Wiccan ceremonial knife to school Feb. 19. He has been suspended 11 times since 1995 and has been involved in several confrontations with students, Carruthers said. She described the knife as similar to a paring knife, but it resembles a small dagger. The reason given for Joseph's most recent suspension is "just an excuse to discriminate," said Carruthers and Jon Ratcliffe, who has completed two years of hormone treatments in preparation for an operation next year to transform him into a woman. "I had to tell them that Jon may be picking my son up from school," Carruthers said. "But I had to explain he may be Jon or he may show up as Selena."

Ratcliffe and Carruthers have been roommates for three years. Carruthers said board officials also won't let her son, Joseph, 9, return to school unless he's in a foster home. but an assistant school superintendent said the district does not

have the authority to order a child be placed in foster care.




Major Community Leader Dallas Denny Retires, Closes Several AEGIS Enterprises

By American Educational Gender Information Service, Inc.

Atlanta, March 10, 1998

Dallas Denny, founder and executive director of AEGIS has announced her resignation on March 31 and has announced that several key services will be discontinued. "The community has had a big freebie for nearly 10 years," Denny said, "and that's my time. I've been spending forty to sixty hours a week on AEGIS business, uncompensated, in addition to holding down a full-time job. It's proven impossible to find a replacement Executive Director under those terms. I suspect it's because noone else is so foolish. Until we find the funds to hire someone, or can find some other way to get the work done, we have no choice but to suspend services. We've also stopped doing referrals and distributing information, and we will be closing down other services, as well. We hate to do it. We have no choice."

Denny is the third major TG organization head to quit in the last 12 months. Last year, Alison Laing stepped down as executive director of the International Foundation for Gender Education and Phyllis Frye quit as head of the International Conference for Transgender Law and Employment. Frye too indicated that the burden of work after years without any compensation had also extracted a toll.

Denny said that after the distribution of two issues of its newsletter, AEGIS News, and one issue of its journal, Chrysalis: The Journal of Transgressive Gender Identities, AEGIS will suspend their publication. "We should be mailing Chrysalis within the next two weeks,"Denny said. "Both issues of AEGIS News are at the printer, and should also go out shortly. Then that's it. No more Chrysalis, no more AEGIS News. We will also be closing down our mail order bookstore. We're selling out the remainder of the stock. We'll continue to sell back issues of Chrysalis and our Transition Series booklets, but that's it." Denny said AEGIS will continue to publish the Transgender Treatment Bulletin, a newsletter for professionals.

AEGIS is currently negotiating with the national transgender rights organization It's Time, America! about a possible merger. "If the merger happens," Denny said, we will be evaluating the community's needs and setting up services accordingly. We may be able to once again do referrals. But I suspect we've seen the last issue of Chrysalis." Denny, who was editor of Chrysalis since its inception in 1990, said she had enjoyed working on the magazine. "Chrysalis was very popular. It's glossy appearance set a new standard for transgender publications. We broke lots of new ground conceptually, as well. We were so far as I know the first to talk about transsexuals as consumers of services with the right to hire and fire service providers, rather than victims of some inner calamity who should be grateful for whatever services doctors choose to give us. We were also the first to document the problems with the restrictive gender programs of the 1970s, and were early proponents of the transgender model., while continuing to advocate for transsexuals. I'm proud of what we accomplished. But it was a lot of work. I can't say I won't be happy to have the time back."

David Letterman and Marilyn Manson-Together?

"Grab my hand - it'll look like you've won something," David Letterman said to Marilyn Manson, after Manson's appearance on The Late Show." Manson, who was plugging his autobiography, "The Long Hard Road Out Of Hell" so impressed Letterman that the comedian invited him back, any time. One person Manson didn't win over was another of the show's guests, former Senator Bob Dole. "I've got to get to the airport," Dole said, declining a photo with Marilyn. Dole then raced to his limo faster than you can say Monica Lewinsky......well, you know. Manson understood:"It's probably in his best interests not to have his picture taken with me."

Reprinted from Rolling Stone ,with permission




Saturday Night's All Right For...

By Angela Gardner

Garth Brooks must be trying to shed his down-home country boy image. Did ya catch him on Saturday Night Live back in February? He started the show by dressing as a hippy and doing a psychedelicsong. Then he appeared in the "Mango" sketch. Mango is an exotic male dancer who captivates Garth (who plays himself) when Garth and some pals stop in at a club someone recommended, little suspecting it features male exotic dancers. There were M. Butterfly overtones to Garth's backstage visit to Mango's dressing room. He arrives with flowers and is spurned by Mango (who isn't all that hot and sexy... actually not hot and sexy at all). He ends up slumped over in an alley drinking and moaning for Mango.

As if all this weren't enough to make his cow feces punting fans begin to wonder, he tops it by appearing in a quiz show sketch called "Old French Whore." You guessed it. Garth appeared before the world as "Coco, the 67 year old French whore." Actually, he looked a lot younger than 67 and seemed pretty comfortable in a shimmy dress and feather boa. He's got a good face for drag.

Well all I can say, mind ya, is that there danged old country music has changed a lot since the old days. You wouldn't never see Merle Haggard in no damn shimmy dress. Conway Twitty would never have been caught on the television in a simple A line skirt and pumps. Do you suppose country music has changed that much? I guess we'll have to see how many nominations. Our Miss Brooks gets at the next Country Music Awards. In the meantime, keep your eyes open for a new country chart topper from Boy George. Nah, just kidding.

Reprinted from Renaissance News and Views, NewsBeat and Reminder, with author's permission




Our Time In Eden: Toronto By Anne Casebeer

I might be a resident of Kentucky, but I'm a Northerner by birth and Toronto happens to be one of my
favorite cities, so I couldn't resist coming to the IFGE "Crossing Borders" conference.  What couldn't be
predicted was the fun we'd have there, fun I needed after logging a very intense few months on the job.  A
great city can be the match that brings fun to a flame, but good friends are the kindling, and both were
present and then some.  By the time we left on the 29th, the fun had been raging out of control all week long
in the unbelievably warm Canadian sunshine. 
First, a bit of background is necessary here.  I'm one of those loony people who thinks that an all-night
road trip is loads of fun, plus I only enjoy flying if I'm in the cockpit, so the decision was made to drive
from Louisville to Toronto.  Since I drive a van, people became very interested quickly from our local
group, the Bluegrass Belles.  Now, the Belles were started barely a year ago, and it became obvious that
this was going to be our group's "coming out" excursion.  The road crew ended up being Dawn Wilson,
Marjorie Demaille, Erica Wilson, Jill Ambrose, and moi, the craxed, sleepless, diet Coke-swilling Windstar
pilot. Yes, we've made other trips with members of this and other groups, but this was the first time a large
group of Bluegrass Belles was to be unleashed upon a transgender convention. The results were bound to
be memorable. 
Erica and I packed up the van in my driveway in Louisville, with the help of Angela "The Trollope"
Bridgman and RuthAnn Asmus, then headed to Lexington to pick up Marjorie and Dawn. We started out
about 90 minutes behind schedule, but I'd allowed an hour to load up in Lexington, plus an hour and a half
to get there. We were packed in about 10 minutes, and set the world land speed record for Ford Windstars
on I-75 between Lexington and Cincinnati, Dawn filling us in on who won what Oscar, as Ozzy Osbourne
played in the CD player.  Finding Jill's house in eastern Cincinnati was easy, and she knew a good shortcut
to the highway, so soon, we were slicing a hole in the foggy night towards Detroit.  I don't stop often on the
road, but the van needed fuel near Toledo, so we made the inevitable stop; unfortunately, the Marathon
station we stopped in had a stopped-up loo, necessitating a detour to a nearby BP. The clerk at the BP, a
young lady, was rather surprised at the appearance of 5 somewhat bedraggled trannies needing Cokes,
candy, and a restroom at 5AM, but she handled it with aplomb.
One hour later, we crossed the Ambassador Bridge south into Canada (yes, that's right, by a quirk of
geography, you really go south from Detroit into Windsor, Ontario), and approached the Customs
checkpoint. Now, I'd done my homework, and knew that all that we needed was proof of citizenship and a
picture I.D., plus I knew we weren't carrying any contraband. Still, here we were, approaching Customs in
rather ragged femme mode; in fact, I was wearing my male glasses for nighttime driving comfort (I
normally wear contact lenses in femme mode. I woke up the group as we approached the gate, as Blind
Faith's "Can't Find My Way Home" played. The gate guard shot a photo of our license plate, asked me
our country of origin and reason for visiting Canada, took a look in my tape box to make sure that it didn't
still contain the Bolla wine that was originally in it, and waved us on.  We tore out onto the 401, and
stopped for breakfast around London, Ontario.  The waitress served us a delicious breakfast and excellent
coffee for a very reasonable price, with no mention of our  transgendered status. Before we knew it, we
were in Toronto, finding our exit, driving around downtown Toronto trying to get to the Toronto Colony
Hotel. We could see the hotel, finding a street to access it took a few trips around the block, but around
11:30AM, we had the van tucked away in the underground garage and were checking in. After talking for a
bit with some of the nice folks from Xpressions, Christine Hochberg, and Terry Murphy, it was time to rest
a bit. 

Getting Hit On At The Mall

We all took a rest for a couple hours, then femmed out for a trip to the Eaton Centre, a short 2-block walk
away.  Frank Zappa's "Valley Girl" was floating through my mind as we explored the mall in search of a
store that sold clothes for large women. We found one, and I asked the clerk in my little semifemme whine
if they stocked a white skirt that would go nicely with the blue blazer I was already wearing.  She did,
found it, and led me to the fitting room. The skirt was perfect, and when I came out to model it for the
clerk, she smiled salaciously at me, and told be that I had great legs.  She then came closer, and showed me
other items that were of interest, then told me that I smelled good. I told her the brand of perfume I was
wearing ("Ambush"), and gave her a smile.  I don't doubt that I could have pursued this lead, but I was too
tired for that type of action. I must admit at this time that the only person that would lust after my legs
would probably be Colonel Sanders, but why I didn't pursue the lead, I'll never know.  I guess the fact that
this sort of thing rarely happens  in Louisvlle had a lot to do with it. After that, we looked for a place to eat
dinner, and I spotted a bistro called the City Grille, and we entered.  We were served by a sweet young lady
named Lena, and she took an immediate interest in us. At the end of the meal, we all gave her our business
cards. After leaving the Eaton Centre, we returned to the Colony, where we held court in the hotel bar, 
with the rest of the early arrivals, until the wee hours of the morning. 
The Belles agreed to meet in the hotel restaurant for breakfast on Wednesday morning, and I was the first
to arrive.  While waiting for the rest of our crew to arrive, I enjoyed a nice buffet with Bobbie, a well-dressed TS from Lafayette, Louisiana with an interesting story to tell. Shadhith from Xpressions also
joined us, then the rest of the Belles arrived, along with Christine Hochberg. We chatted until 11:30, at
which time Erica and I headed to Pearson International to pick up Jennileigh Love and the rest of the
Tennessee Vals' delegation.  We asked the information desks where to wait, and they.....never came. It
turned out that their plane had electrical problems, and was disembarked at a different terminal from the
one they originally were supposed to use. After screwing up my knee when tripping over a curb at the
airport, we caught up with Jenni, Shena, and Susan back at the hotel, then Jenni joined the Belles for a
dinner at the City Grille. Lena, our server from Tuesday night, found us,  and we talked for some time. She
had v isited our group webpage and our individual webpages, and wanted to catch up to us later in the
week. It's our loss that we could not make connections.  That evening, Jill and I went to see "Rent", which
we thoroughly enjoyed.  The show rocks, and packs a punch to the mind and emotions. We may get it this
summer in Louisville.

You Mean There's a Gender Convention Going On Here?

Thursday is the day of the week on which gender conventions really get underway. I attended Penni Ashe's
seminar, who is involved in the It's Time! movement, and who had some good advice for dealing with the
backward political situation we face in the Bluegrass State. A number of us headed for the Eaton Centre
again, and I found the time to get my hair done, then found a place where Erica  received a makeover and I
had my nails done and eyebrows waxed.  There was never a question about acceptance anywhere we went
in Toronto, as I knew there wouldn't be. That night, we experienced the "Famous People Players", who use
puppets and other props under black lights to achieve a surreal blend of music video and theatre.  After
returning to the hotel, we ran into a group of high school seniors on their senior trip who wanted their
pictures taken with us. We met them, and their chaperones in the bar (the drinking age in Toronto is 18)
and had a grand time.  While we held court and did our little outreach thing, Dawn slipped away, ran into
Jamie Faye Fenton, and brought her over to meet Jenni and I; we did our best imitation of Mile Myers and
Dana Carvey saluting Alice Cooper in "Wayne's World". Jamie proved to be a real cool, genuinely
friendly, intelligent, and fun person with whom we spent much time during the rest of the convention. 
Friday was interesting indeed; interesting in the sense that it was both wonderful and tragic. The luncheon
seminar was presented by Keith Norton, the commissioner of the Ontario Provincial Human Rights
Commission. Do not confuse this with the HRC in the US; in Ontario, Mr. Norton was instrumental in
passing a rights' law that includes transgendered people. The language used was effective and elegant, and
would be a good model to use in any area, including here.  That afternoon, we attended Holly Boswell's
seminar, then Erica, Jenni, and I walked in the unseasonably warm weather down Yonge Street in search of
rare and collectible records.  I must confess my addiction to the obsolete 12" vinyl record, and I look in
used record stores,  whenever I travel, for the 70s' rock records I treasure.  We found paydirt in an upstairs
storefront, where I purchased albums.  After picking up some bargain CDs and headphones, it was time to
go back and fix ourselves up for the Friday night fund raising dinner and show.  I now wish I'd taken our
merry crew  and gone out to party.  The problem came from the entertainment: the MC for the evening was
local drag performer Rusty Rose, who was famous enough locally to be featured in the local entertainment
magazine. Rusty, about an hour into the event, prefaced a joke with the line "Are there any African-Americans in the audience?". As soon as I heard that, the air just went right out of me as if I'd been
punched; I knew what was coming, and what the aftermath would be.  Sure enough, Rusty Rose told a pair
of totally tasteless jokes with people of color as the targets, apparently oblivious to the fact that there were
2 people of color in the audience.  The jokes resulted in practically no laughter whatsoever, and Rusty had
to know it bombed. I watched as Dawn, who was sitting at a different table, moved out to the hallway with
others following her. I waited a few minutes, putting up with an unfunny and nonentertaining performance
by "The Washed Up Blondes" for a bit, before moving to the hallway to get another beer. I didn't return to
the ballroom - Dawn and I talked a bit; she'd talked to some folks who'd listened to her, then had an
encounter with Rusty Rose, who by all reports was unremorseful for what she'd said and done.  The whole
thing ruined Dawn's evening, and didn't do mine any good at all, but we went out anyway. The crew ended
up including Linda Buten of Crossport, who definitely makes things happen in public.
We took a cab to the "gay" area on Church Street, and Linda asked a "lady of the evening", then a gay
couple, where the action was. We tried a couple places, then ended up at Studio 619, which ended up being
full of transpeople, most of whom were not connected with the convention. While at Studio 619, we ran
into a gal from Bowling Green who was in town to crossdress; she was unaware of the Tennessee Vals or
Bluegrass Belles, and came to Toronto a few times annually on "business" to escape the wife and
crossdress publicly.  I enjoyed chatting with her. If you're out there, please come to see us!  A nice place. 

The Bulgarian-Kentuckian Shotput Team Returns

Saturday, we managed somehow to get dressed decently enough for Nancy Nangeroni and Linda Buten's
seminar on IFGE affairs, which was informative. After lunch, the "Bulgarian Shotput Team" (Jenni, Erica,
Marjorie, and I) headed for the CN Tower, where we experienced the feeling of being in the jetstream. In
particular, you can go outside at the second level from the top, where you are buffetted by high winds.
Erica and Marjorie chose not to flip their wigs in the 35-mph breeze, but Jenni and I couldn't resist. Your
Resistol Stetson or Zsa Zsa Gabor would not survive.  We also found a glass-floored level where passersby
had the chance to stare up our skirts for a moment or two. After returning to the hotel, I took part in
another new experience: Holly Boswell's TG Spirit Circle. I have an interest in occult matters, most
notably astrology and the tarot deck, and have a good knowledge and passing familiarity with many
religions, but I'm largely unfamiliar with Native American and Celtic lore. I watched the whole ritual
unfold, and the feeling that there was a greater force in the room grew heavier as the pipe passed around the
circle, and people spoke movingly of their experiences and lives. It was a meaningful time, and I wished it
had lasted longer.  
              You may take Kentucky fans out of the Bluegrass, but you can bet they will find a way to watch
the 'Cats play, especially at tournament time. Dawn arranged with the bar manager for the TVs to be set to
CBS, and  Jenni, Erica, Marjorie, Linda Buten, Jennifer Marquette, Jenn,
and I watched the Cats come back and edge Stanford in overtime,planned
on seeing us at the pre-dinner cocktail party, sorry, but the Cats in the
Final Four takes some precedence.  Sabrina Marcus set a fine bit of
comedy and humor into motion after dinner, and we once again hit the
town. First, we tried a Latin dance club that the locals recommended, but
that proved to be too hot and crowded for some of us.  A number of us
returned to Studio 619, where a local queen in drab coached Erica, Jill,
Marjorie, and I on feminine presentation.  Interesting.  We met some local
gals, and ended up at the Second Cup Coffee Shop for wee-hour lattes and some good conversation.
Sunday, we met at the breakfast brunch, loaded the van, made some goodbyes, and hit the road. The road
was clear, a clerk at a Petro-Canada station was kind enough to snap our picture before leaving Canadian
territory,  Customs at the Ambassador Bridge presented no problems, and the remainder of the trip was fast
and easy. barely making it to dinner in time for the salad course. If you'd 

Final Comment

I feel that I can speak for the Bluegrass Belles, and express my thanks to the gals at Xpressions, the city of
Toronto, and IFGE for throwing a really good time for all involved.  The only low points were Rusty
Rose's insensitive remarks, and I don't hold that against the city or organizers.  Something good may come
of that whole incident, however. After that remark, and continuing on the way home, we all discussed the
fact that, out of a convention of at least 200 people, I only noticed 2 African-Americans. Thinking about it,
I know of only 3 African-American TG people in the groups I belong to. I know there must be many more
still in hiding. Are we doing as good a job of outreach to these people as we should?  No, we can't be.  Let
us make a better effort in the days to come of letting people of color, and other TG minorities know that we
exist, that they are welcome, and embrace them, not just in the Belles, but in groups everywhere.               
     Freedom and Mascara! Anne Casebeer






Totally...

By Angela Bridgman

Angelika! Makes Her Debut!

Well, gang, I've finally done it! I have finally re-entered the profession I left three years ago, in order to transition. I made my re-debut as a stand-up comedienne, Angelika!, on March 24, 1998. Some of you may remember a semi-famous comedian by the name of Rick Penn. You might remember his act, anyway! He was me, three years ago. On March 24, I reclaimed a part of my life that I thought was forever gone. And it felt terrific! I was finally back where I belonged...on stage!

As a result of this, I have been asked, and accepted, to emcee, and do stand-up comedy at the Lexigton PrideFest, and, the Comedy Caravan, here in Louisville, is sponsoring a gay-comic minght in the near future, and it is likely that I will be asked to perform there. It looks as though I have a chance to resurrect my career. I videotaped my debut peformance, and any group member who would like to see the tapoe, I will be happy to show it. I will be performing my next show Tuesday, April 7, at the Comedy Caravan in Louisville.

Lobby Days

Lobby Days is coming up, April 19, 20, and 21, in Washington, DC. For those of you currently not going, let me encourage you to go. It is a very interesting and very fun trip. You never know who you might meet, at Lobby Days, either. I met Anne at the last Lobby Days, and, as a result, was able to move here to Kentucky, to start my life over. That never would have happened had I not attended Lobby Days. You can meet people that you have read articles by, famous people in the gender community, and many others. You can meet people that will be friends for life! More importantly than that, you can stand up for your ights, and be one of those who are fighting for your rights, instead of letting others fight for you. That's what got me to Lobby Days, my first time, last year. I was wondering who would fight for my rights. And I decided that the person would be me. I would fight for my rights, and for the rights of my sisters and brothers in the transgendered community.

In addition to a lot of work we will be doing in Washington, there will be plenty of time for fun, after lobbying hours. We will be making a return trip to the world-infamous Mr. Eagan's. If you have never been there, this alone will be worth the whole trip. I will not spoil the fun for you, if you never have been there. In fact, if you want to know what Mr. Eagan's is all about, then come to Lobby Days.

I will be combining the Lobby Days trip with a little personal vacation, and, as such, will not be in attendance at the April meeting. I will be flying into Baltimore on Friday, April 17, and renting a car. From there I will visit my old hometown, Allentown, Pennsylvania. I will also be visiting my friends in New Jersey, on Friday night, in Edison, New Jersey, and will probably pick up a show of the Rocky Horror Picture Show with my old cast in New Jersey.

Until next month, fer sher....

Angela Bridgman