Chatsubo

The Chatsubo, or simply The Chat, is the bar made famous by William Gibson in his 1984 cyber-punk masterpiece NEUROMANCER. The Chat is where the cyberjocks, razorgirls and joeboys came to gather information and kick back. Please feel free to do the same here.

by JoAnn Roberts - CyberQueen

"Happiness is something that comes into our lives through doors we don't even remember leaving open." - - Rose Lane

It's still touch and go on the political front. GenderPAC (GPAC) and It's Time America! (ITA!) have both announced plans to formalize their respective structures with boards of directors, etc. GPAC will be submitting congressional testimony later this month, and meanwhile, ITA! has made some impressive progress at grassroot levels lobbying state legislatures for trans- inclusive laws. If we can get GPAC and ITA! to work together, wouldn't that be nearly perfect. Imagine, a united front, working toward the same goals at both the state and federal levels. Hey, it could happen. I hope it does. You can find out more about GPAC activities including information on the Second National Transgender Lobby Days.

I received the most feedback last month on my piece about Stephanie Lloyd (Transformations, U.K.) The responses ran 2 for 1 on negative/positive experiences with Ms. Lloyd's company. I guess let the buyer beware.

MTV announced they're giving Chicago Bulls star Dennis Rodman his own show. At a press conference where Rodman was wearing pink nail polish, he said, "I could be [transmitting] in a gay bar, dancing with gay guys, even kissing a gay guy." When asked if he was gay, Rodman said he wasn't. Interestingly enough, the gay/lesbian community seems to understand Rodman quite well. One lesbian activist said Rodman was a transvestite and that was just fine with her since he is calling attention to people of difference. Rodman may be the greatest thing that's happened to this community since RuPaul. Someone ought to invite him to a gender event.

There's been a mini-explosion of tg related vendors on the net. Just last month Lee's Mardi Gras Boutique, Lola Inc., and Melody Products International, opened online stores. You can buy just about anything you can dream of online and discretely. There's nothing quite like surfing the net at 2 AM in your nightie searching for fishnet hose.

The Second International Congress on Sex & Gender Issues is coming along nicely. Registrations have started coming in and Sheila Kirk reports that a major name in transgender research has agreed to be one of the plenary speakers. Watch for an official press release in September. By the way, should anyone ask, the deadline for program and workshop submissions is Jan. 15, 1997.

Okay, onto kewl stuff... Hair fashion for Fall is the slicked-back look. I envy those who have their own hair they can pull back into a bun or chignon. That look is so elegant and graceful. I've seen this done with a wig, but in order to pass close inspection at the hairline, we're talking mucho denaro and a custom- made hairpiece. Most of us can't afford that cost for realism. Other fads we'll be seeing are military looks and lots of metallics, especially gold.

Sexy shoes seem to be back in the Fall lineup after several seasons of what amounted to combat boots with heels. The latest Speigel catalog has a pair of high heel (3 1/4-inch), ankle strap, suede pumps (a.k.a., knock me down and... well, you get the idea) in sizes up to 12 medium and 11 wide for about $65. In fact, ankle strap heels are among the really hot items for Fall. The styles range from the sexy (as above) to the utilitarian Mary Jane.

Some genetic women are just learning about a special kind of cosmetic surgery that many post-op transsexuals have known about for years - the labia lift. Yes, ladies, you too can have more sensitive labia with a simple operation. One woman reported she became so sensitive that every time she bumped against the washing machine while it was running, she just stayed there. Must take a real long time to do the wash in her house. And, just so you guys don't feel left out, there is a procedure that can lengthen and thicken the penis. Who says size doesn't matter?

The color of the season for Fall is brown and anything close to it. I always like chocolate and camel tan for the Fall. And, most browns are neutral enough they can be worn by anyone.

The metallic look is hot again (nothing in fashion is ever really new). If you have Fair skin try: Eyes-any gold eye shadow... Lips-Chanel Hydra Soleil Sheer lipstick... Nails-Orly Bronze Metallic. If you have Medium skin try: Eyes-Guerlain Liquid Gold liner... Lips-Benefit SSHI lipstick... Nails-Maybelline 24K polish. For Olive skin try: Eyes-Maybelline Gilded Bronze shadow... Lips-M-A-C O lipstick... Nails-Revlon Coffee Bean polish. For Dark skin try: Eyes-Stila Kitten shadows... Lips-Valerie Kissing Kit... Nails- Creative Nail Design Burgundy Foil.

The really HOT BUZZ for Fall is the pant suit. Remember in the '70s when women were being excluded from restaurants for wearing pants? I guess I'm old fashioned. I like skirts and dresses, but pant suits are hotter than ever. If you must be up-to-date, then it better be pants for Fall. The most flattering look is long, lean trousers under a tunic length jacket. You'll look tall and slender. The right shoe to wear with pants this Fall has a sturdy stacked heel and the pant cuff should fall just to the back of the heel.

With all the slinky new apparel made from microfiber, you have to be careful what you wear under it. Microfiber tops and dresses are very unforgiving and show every line of undergarments. That's why companies like Victoria's Secret and Warner have introduced seamless underwired bras and seamless panties, and now seamless pantyhose. Glamour staffers tested CK ($10.50), DKNY ($11) and Wolford ($50) [that's not a typo] brands of seamless pantyhose and universally loved them. Believe it or not, the Wolford brand lasted longest and were, therefore, the least expensive on a per wearing basis ($2.50/wearing).

First, there was the Wonderbra to lift your bust. Now, there is the Wonderbody shaper to lift your butt. All brought to you by those crafty folks at Sara Lee Intimates. Well, it makes some sense. They used to make buns and now they lift them.

I just picked up an old Pattern Making & Draping book for my daughter, who is studying fashion design and marketing in graduate school. (I wonder where she got that idea?) The book, from 1948, is extremely interesting when compared to what we call fashion today. There was an illustration of how to correct a side seam for a woman who is sway-backed, i.e., rump out back and tummy forward. Just look through any fashion mag and you'll see every model standing that way. I also compared the size chart from then to now. A size 6 today was a size 12 back then, and my size 14 was almost a 22.

While I'm on the subject of sizes, some manufacturers, like J. Crew, are actually offering size 14 and 16 Petite. Now a 14 Petite may seem like an oxymoron, but realize that Petite, in the fashion world, refers to height, not girth. A Petite version of any given size will have the same bust, waist and hip measurements, but the vertical distances between these measurements will be shorter, often by as much as an inch in the larger sizes.

Last year it was Vamp, the nail color of the hour. This year Chanel follows up with Very Vamp and Metallic Vamp, in both nail and lip colors. Not to be left out of the picture, Lancome hits the street with Platinum Rouge for lips and nails. If gold is good, platinum is better.

I know this has nothing to do with being transgendered or fashion, but I have to tell you - go see the movie Independence Day. It is perhaps the most awesome and awe inspiring SciFi movie ever. The special effects alone are fabulous. But I liked it on another level beyond the technically fabulous. It's a ground breaking movie in that the "heroes" of the film aren't blue-eyed, Anglo-Saxon, Christians. A Jewish American and an African American, as played by Jeff Goldblum and Will Smith, are the most unlikely team to save the world, but they do. And, on an even deeper level, it is a story about family and relationships. Go, see, you'll love it. Oh, yeah, watch for Brent Spiner (Commander Data from STNG) as the geek-scientist. He's great in the role.

According to Vogue, one of the five best lingerie shops in the world is in Los Angeles. No, it's not Fredericks of Hollywood. Angelinos in the know, know all about Trashy Lingerie, 402 N La Cienega Blvd. I found it on a business trip 13 years ago and was amazed at the selections. Trashy makes a lot of custom items for movies, too. If you're in L.A. and love lingerie, don't miss it.

Does anyone remember the original Pulsar watches? The ones where you needed two hands to tell the time? It seems these and other first run digital watches have become hot after almost twenty years of cooling off. I have one of the first Pulsar's and I stopped wearing it because the batteries, which last only a year, cost a small fortune.

If you have a favorite cosmetic color that is either out of stock in your local area or completely discontinued, try one of these... Nordstrom Beauty Hotline 1-800-7-BEAUTY (will search for products from the lines they sell, M-A-C included)... Clinique's Find Line is 1-800-444-FIND... Estee Lauder Preferred Treatment phone number is 1-800-945-ORDER... Revlon is 1-800-473-8566.

So, those are my opinions, but, hey, what do I know? I think you make your own happiness. Comments? Email them to CyberQueen@cdspub.com.

© 1996 by Creative Design Services.

Up On My Soapbox

Since I lost my companion here (Kalina got "kicked upstairs" with her own column), I feel that the readers deserved a little more than just the hot buzz stuff. So, I went digging in my archives and I'll be posting editorials and essays from past writings, updated for today's issues. What follows is the first of several editorials on political activism. If you like this part of Chatsubo, let me knowJoAnn Roberts.

This piece marks the first time I wrote about an issue larger and more important than the TV/TS community. This was sparked by the flap over Robert Mapplethorpe's photos and the NEA funding. That's an issue that's still not sorted out. This appeared in LadyLike #9, around September 1990. It just amazes me how little things have changed.

Political Activism

I want to move onto a more serious subject, politics. Oh, I hear you groan, but you must listen because everything we've worked to achieve is being threatened.

Pick up any newspaper and look at what's going on around you. Six years ago The National Endowment for the Arts was being held for ransom by right-wing fundamentalists because Jesse Helms didn't like Robert Mapplethorpe's sexual images. The recording industry was being bludgeoned by the Parent's Music Resource Center (i.e. Tipper Gore, Vice President Albert Gore's Significant Other) to label records with "objectionable language." Members of the rap group 2 Live Crew were arrested on obscenity charges because their album, As Nasty As They Wanna Be, was deemed obscene by a Florida State Supreme Court.

Want more? Congress tried to pass an amendment to the Constitution to make flag burning a crime. Some Congressional reps under intense pressure from the religious right want a Constitutional Amendment banning the right of a woman to choose whether or not to have an abortion and that right is under massive attack in almost every state. The Federal Supreme Court ruled that the Right to Privacy does not extend to same sex, consenting adults in their own bedroom. And Congress tried to limit freedom of speech on the Internet under the claim they're trying to "protect children" from obscenity and pornography.

Now what does all this have to do with crossdressing? Every thing. In every case above, someone is trying to control what you see, what you hear, what you read and what you do. Your personal freedom is under an unrelenting assault by people who think they know better than you do what's best for you. Had the Communications Decency Act held water in the courtroom, Free Speech would've gone right out the window.

If the zealous guardians of America's moral fiber continue to hold the ears and wallets of Congress in their sway, we're in deep shit. It is a short step from records, art anf the Internet to magazines and books. If "they" decide LadyLike or Transgender Forum have "no redeeming social value", Bang! We're gone. If "they" decide that no one has the right to control what they do with their own body, then any family of a transsexual who disagrees with that TSs choice for reassignment can stop the operation.

Wake up and smell the coffee. Do you think that Human Rights and Civil Rights are someone else's problem? Better think again and start to do something. Ah, I knew you'd say, "Like what?" Well, how about this:

  • Write letters: A personal letter is a No. 1 priority for an elected official. Make it short and personal - no form letter. Stay to one topic, like ENDA - TVs and TSs are excluded from coverage. Explain your opinion. Ask where the official stands on the issue and ask for a written reply. Check over in the Political Writes section for issues that concern our community.
  • Make phone calls: Congress works for you so you have to let them know how you feel. Call your representatives office. You'll probably talk to a staffer who will note your call in a log that the congressman will review. Tell the staffer your concern and, again, ask for a written reply.
  • Start a petition: This one is tough because you have to sign your legal name. Type your statement of support or opposition of an issue on a piece of plain paper. Make 3 columns under it for Name, Address and Phone Number. You sign it first and then get your friends, relatives and acquaintances to sign it. When you meet a new person, ask them to sign it. Make copies and send to your state and federal representatives.
  • Make a visit: Call your rep's home office to find out when he/she will be in town. Tell the office manager about your concern and that you would like to meet the rep personally. If possible, get a group together to meet with him/her.
  • Plan on joining your brothers and sisters for the second National Transgender Lobby Days, May 1997.
  • Make a donation to GenderPAC.

    Don't just sit there looking pretty -- Do something positive.

    If you're "Mad as Hell," and you're, "Not Gonna Take It Anymore!" then get involved. Exercise your rights or lose them. The choice is your's. Go over to Political Writes and read about what's going on in the community. Then get busy and get involved.

    Go to:

    Chatsubo Event Horizon TG Resources Fun Places to Visit


    © 1996 by cdspub.com