TG Friendly in the Heart of America
“Kansas City Here I Come”
By Cynthia Roberts (CJ)
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There are many legends, songs sung and
stories written about Kansas City,
Missouri. This city has been made
famous by such notorious outlaw’s as
Frank and Jesse James, Billy the Kid
and many others.
Songs such as
“Kansas City”, and “Kansas City Here I
Come” have made Kansas City famous far
beyond the borders of the United
States. Kansas City was home to some
of the United States leading Jazz
musicians. Our cultural claim to fame
comes from having the second largest
number of fountains in the world. Our
museums are rich in contemporary art
and historical perspective. We have a
booming movie filming industry here
and in Kansas.
When you go to the
movies you can’t help but notice the
central theme portraying Kansas City
as a rough and tumble home to some of
the rowdiest cowboys north of Texas
and Oklahoma. Recently a movie filmed
in and written about Kansas City was
nominated for a foreign films award at
the Cannes film festival. And who can
forget the line “I don’t think we are
in Kansas anymore Toto” from the
Wizard of OZ?
Yes “ladies” we in
Missouri share the same city with the
great state of Kansas. You might be
asking, all this history is fine but,
what about the Kansas City of today?
What makes this town so important to
those of us in the Transgendered
community? How about being home to
one of the largest populations of
individuals living an “alternative”
lifestyle in the nation.
TG Friendly Town
A friendly
supportive atmosphere, where you are
judged by your deeds not what you look
like or how you dress. Or, quite
possibly that within an area of 20
miles there are more establishments
catering to our particular lifestyle
than you could imagine, from clothing
stores to museums, restaurants and
dance clubs and all dedicated to
making your life fun and memorable.
What ever you want you can find it
here. Want to try out your new outfit,
your new look, order dinner in a
upscale restaurant, dance the night
away or sing songs until the sun rises
or just explore your female
personality? To fulfill your wildest
dreams come to Kansas City, where it is
still anything goes.
Before you take that first dainty step
into the alluring and intoxicating
night-life of Kansas City, you need
some new clothes! What girl would be
caught out at a nice restaurant or
dancing in last year's fashions (not
this girl!)?
Shopping enfemme has
never been easier, we have Dillards
and JC Penney outlet shops, specialty
shops with private fittings, beauty
salons that treat you like a queen (
no pun intended ). There are cosmetic
counters that cater to the special
needs of our skin, wig and beauty
stores that will help you select the
perfect hair style for your female
persona (reasonably priced to).
Girls, don’t forget shoes, from tennis
shoes for the sports minded, to flats
for casual wear or high heeled pumps
for dining and dancing we have the
shoes for you in the right size, color
and price, right here right now within
a thirty minute drive of downtown. To
me heaven is Kansas City for the
lifestyle I choose to lead. Now, your
new outfit fits perfectly, your shoes
and accessories match, your makeup is
perfect and you have never looked more
beautiful and felt so feminine, are
you ready to paint the town? Then
lets go!
Nightlife
Kansas City night life starts with a
delicious dinner at Mari’s Tea Room at
18th and Grand Avenue, were you are
seated by the headwaiter and offered a
drink from the bar and informed of the
specialty of the day. You might start
with a tremendous shrimp salad with
cocktail sauce, or perhaps the sampler
platter with mozzarella sticks,
poppers, onion rings and fried
zucchini. For your main course you
might select the Prime Rib prepared
just to your liking (done, but don’t
kill it), the Poached Salmon with a
simply tantalizing honey mustard sauce
or the Chicken Alfredo with creamy
noodles. If you are still hungry
after your meal you will be offered
the desert specials. How about a
freshly baked spiced apple pie or a
cheese cake smothered in a cherry
sauce to put a pucker in even the most
discriminating palates? And what
would a perfect ladies night out
dinner be without a cup of freshly
brewed coffee to put the finishing
touch on a wonderful meal?
After dinner you could go downstairs
and try your beautiful singing voice
at the “open mike” Sunday nights with
the Missie B’s Bad Girls. Or you
could go club hopping at any of the
lively alternative friendly nightclubs
in town. The Vineyard at 11th and
Grand is a fabulous place to catch
shows on most nights of the week
(Friday and Saturday are tops). If
you are into leather and are all that
entails you need to go to the Dixie
Belle at 18th and Main. You can dance
the night away to some of the hottest
New-wave and alternative sounds on the
their spacious dance floor (always
crowded), or enjoy shopping in their
leather store. You could go next door
and visit “Tootsies” the crowd is
always fun and the dancing is close.
You will find women with other women
or other “women”. The drinks are
reasonably priced and always good. If
music with more base or rap is more up
your alley than the Edge, as one of
the premier alternative clubs is were
you could see and be seen (the rest-
rooms are communal, but that can be
fun to). I hate to leave out any
clubs or nightspots but, space is
limited and “discovering” clubs on
your own after being out a few times
yourself is fun.
For those wanting to get a fast start
on the Kansas City scene, here is a
partial list (use the phone book and
look up the address and phone number)
or keep an eye on the club section of
TG Forum for updates: Missie B’s
(Shows & Lounge), Buddies (Country
Dancing), Sidekicks (Country
Dancing), Bottoms up (Lounge, Shows),
Utter House (Shows & Lounge), Cabaret
(Shows & Lounge), Atlantis (Thursday
Night Dancing & Bar & Karoke). If you
find you can’t drive back to the hotel
or home, the taxi service in Kansas
City is always cooperative and non-
judgmental. Rather than using a taxi,
I suggest a designated driver, besides
going out with another “girl” or your
SO who shares your taste in
entertainment is what being a woman
and being out and about is all about
anyway (isn’t it?).
To end your first night in Kansas City
and quite possibly the most memorable
night of your female life, I would
suggest breakfast at Nichol’s at the
corner of Southwest Traffic Way and
39th street right in front of Missie
B’s. The staff is a hoot and they
enjoy our business, they often
participate in our ribald humor and
antics while serving one of the
largest proportions of food you have
ever had (if you are on a diet, forget
finishing your meal). The customers
other than TG, TV or TS don’t know
what to make of our nightly invasion
but, they are very kind and sometimes
you can get one of the “straight”
crowd to even talk to you. When this
happens the questions will always turn
to “why do you were a dress” the
answer is always the same “why do
you?, or why do you were pants”?
“Because society tells us this is or
is not appropriate”? I almost always
end my exchange with, “Do you always
believe or do what others tell you”?
The exchange of questions and answers
is quite fun, and who knows maybe we
can spread the word that we are just
like anyone else only prettier! When
you are done with breakfast, GO HOME!
You need your beauty sleep to start
all over again tomorrow, or rest up
for next weekend. We are always here
for you in Kansas City, Missouri!
Lets party till the cows come home and
start our own piece of history by
enjoying our choice of lifestyle to
the hilt.
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