With Cindy Martin
Transgender Forum Publisher
© 1997 Transgender Forum
Got a news tip? Seen a story with a TG angle to it?
Don't assume we know about it already.
Email Cindy and she'll spread the news!
August 25, 1997
oud applause for "It's Time, Illinois" and particularly
Miranda Stevens, vice-chair of ITI, who spearheaded the effort to get an anti-bias ordinance enacted in Evanston, Ill. early this month.
There aren't many places in the U.S. that offer any kind of protection against discrimination in housing and employment: San Francisco, Santa Cruz, CA, Seattle, Cedar Rapids, IA, Cambridge, MA and the state of Minnesota.
Ms. Stevens, ITI and the City Council of Evanston are all to be congratulated for making their community a part of this elite group.
Interesting footnote: In most of the places where laws have been enacted they have been the result of individuals or very small groups who have worked quietly behind the scenes with legislators. It's not very exciting work, but good old fashioned personal politickin' is still a great way to get things done.
'm not a great fan of self-reported "surveys." By definition there is a huge potential for bias, doubly so when the number of respondents is small. Nevertheless a survey done at the 1996 New Woman Conference produced results that were so fascinating - and disturbing - I thought I would present them to you.
By way of background, regular contributor Melinda Whiteway explains that the conference is an annual retreat for post-op transsexual women. At the 1996 conference, as in prior years, the attendees asked and answered questions about their lives, via an anonymous format called "pass the bowl". Anyone could pose a question
to the group; answers were given by placing a colored poker chip in a bowl passed person-to-person (red = yes, white = no, blue = ? or don't know). Thirteen women attended, but not everyone answered every
question, so the responses don't always total thirteen. There is no claim made that this is a representative sample of transsexuals or of their opinions.
Here are the questions and answers, grouped by category:
Identity
I have a clearly-defined self-identity.
7Y, 4N, 2?
I am not a man, not a woman, but a transsexual.
3Y, 8N, 2?
The term "transsexual woman" describes me well.
10Y, 3N
I identify as lesbian.
6Y, 7N
I identify as bisexual.
4Y, 8N, 1?
Sexual Functioning
I have sex regularly.
4Y, 8N
I am able to experience sexual excitement.
8Y, 2N, 3?
I have orgasms regularly.
1Y, 10N, 2?
I have had at least one orgasm after SRS.
7Y, 4N, 1?
I am capable of being penetrated vaginally.
7Y, 3N, 3?
I have given up on sex.
3Y, 8N, 1?
Eroticism
I find self-feminization erotic.
10Y, 3N
Self-feminization was my primary erotic fantasy, prior to SRS.
7Y, 4N, 2?
I lost sexual function after transition because my fantasy of
self-feminization had become reality.
3Y, 6N, 2?
I was sexually aroused immediately prior to SRS.
4Y, 9N
I am strongly attracted to FTM transsexuals.
3Y, 7N, 3?
I am strongly attracted to other MTF transsexuals.
5Y, 5N, 3?
I would like to engage in sex with someone present at this conference.
9Y, 3N, 1?
Relationships
If I were to spend the rest of my life without a significant other,
that would be OK.
7Y, 4N, 2?
I think companionship is more important than sex.
11Y, 0N, 1?
I need to disclose to my partners that I am TS.
10Y, 3N
I have previously engaged in sex with someone present at this
conference.
6Y, 6N
I have previously engaged in sex with someone present at this
conference, other than at a prior NWC.
3Y, 9N, 1?
Body Issues
I am satisfied with my body, and do not plan any further body
modifications.
4Y, 7N , 1?
I have had more than five surgical operations to feminize my body.
2Y, 10N
I have modified my body with tattooing, branding, cutting, or piercing
(other than piercing my ears).
2Y, 11N
I would choose to have SRS again.
13Y
Standard of Care Issues
My transition adhered to the Benjamin Standards.
5Y, 7N
My transition involved some deception of my therapists or healthcare
providers.
6Y, 7N
I lived full-time in-role for at least one year prior to having SRS.
10Y, 3N
Mood
I am happy.
8Y, 2N, 3?
I experienced post-SRS depression.
5Y, 7N, 1?
I am taking anti-depressant medication.
2Y, 11N
Employment
I lost my job when I transitioned.
9Y, 4N
I now earn at least 60% of what I earned in my last year working as a
man.
6Y, 4N, 2?
The job I am working at now is the job I really want to be doing.
5Y, 7N, 1?
Abuse
As a child, I was physically or psychologically abused.
7Y, 6N
As a child, I was abused by an adult due to gender issues.
5Y, 5N, 2?
As a child, I was physically abused by a non-parental adult, due to
gender issues.
1Y, 11N
As an adult, I have been in an abusive relationship, either as victim
or as perpetrator.
6Y, 5N
As an adult, I have been in an abusive relationship with another
transsexual, either as victim or as perpetrator.
5Y, 6N
ig boob alert!
A word of warning from TGF member Stefi: "a start-up company is seeking "test market" candidates for a system which purports to increase breast size of either men or women via the use of a "patent-pending" machine which stimulates and stretches the breast tissue.
There may be a scientific basis for this reflecting increased blood flow and the web-site the company has set up looks quite legitimate. The problem is what they want to know from you. In laboriously-long registration for potential test-market candidates, amongst the other highly-personal information, buried within the form is a space for a U.S.Social Security number".
Stefi points out, quite accurately, that the divulgence of a Social Security number could be devastating if it ends up in the wrong hands. Why on earth a bood-enlargement company would want this number is beyond me. A valid credit card number should be plenty of security deposit for such a device.
Social Security numbers are the key to "identity theft" , a fast growing crime in which a no-goodnik takes over your identity and effectively steal credit. Trust me, it sucks when you get a phone call from a finance company wondering when you're going to make a payment on that $10,000 diamond bracelet they say you bought on credit five months ago.
I won't do business with ANY company that asks for my Social Security number, unless I'm borrowing or depositing money there, like a bank or brokerage firm. Employers have a right to know this number, but that's about it.
If a merchant - or a test marketer - insists on getting your Social Security number to complete a transaction take your business elsewhere. It isn't worth the risk no matter how intriguing the product.
ool Quote of the Month:
"Former midget and sprint-car racer J.T. Hayes, 35, underwent a sex-change operation and now goes by the name of Terri O'Connell. "You see," O'Connell told the Philadelphia Daily News, "I not only wanted to be A. J. Foyt, I wanted to be Marilyn Monroe."
Our own Angela Gardner wrote extensively on O'Connell in a recent column if you'd like to know more. Many thanks to Ricki for spotting this item.
every June we have a little tradition at TGF and do a bridal pictorial, which was a smash again this year. I'll be honest with you though, I never really expect to get the kind of wonderful photos we always get. Wedding gowns are not that easy to come by, yet many people have incredible ones. If you're a subscriber you can view the 1997 Bridal Joy pictorial in our archives.
The reason I mention this is that there is now, believe it or not, a Bridal Gown Shop for Men, online at http://www.eroshop.com/dreamgown/e_index.htm. These folks are NOT advertisers here so I cannot vouch for their integrity or products, but I thought you might enjoy checking this most unusual site.
July 28, 1997
could have predicted what was going to happen in the Andrew-Cunanan-wears-a-dress hysteria that was whipped up the police, especially the Miami Beach cops, and the FBI: a completely innocent TG has been harassed and humiliated.
It happened Tuesday, June 22, in Virginia when an unidentified transsexual was beset by a squad of cops who came to the Department of Motor Vehicles in Virginia Beach when "an employee thought the cross-dressed customer was slaying suspect Andrew Cunanan, " according to a report in the local paper. Apparently the only link to Cunanan was that the person was a TS, misread as a cross-dresser. Nothing else, not her height, size or anything else. Just because she is TG.
Imagine yourself in this situation: you are waiting in line at a public place when out of nowhere a bunch of police offers from FOUR squad cars surround you and treat you like you're a gay murder suspect in an international case. Have a nice frickin' day.
But what was even worse about all this, what was most galling, is that there is no evidence that Cunanan has EVER cross-dressed. Ever. Thank God he killed himself before this all went on much longer. Sooner or later something truly nasty was going to happen.
So how did this story start? I've traced it back and apparently it began from a comment by an unidentified cop in Miami Beach who told the media that there was hair removal "equipment" and hair dye found in Cunanan's Miami hotel room. Somehow, this cop turned this into a theory that Cunanan was dressing as a woman to avoid detection. It was slow weekend, and there was nothing else to report on the big case, so this speculation got into the lead paragraph of a lot of newspapers. Then it ended up on Sunday morning's "Face the Nation" when Bob Schieffer said there were "reports", unattributed, of course, of Cunanan wearing women's clothing. Cunanan was not only a master of disguise, he was a drag queen too. The fiend. Except for one tiny little, detail: there was no history of drag in Cunanan's past.
One gay friend of mine was wondering why the cops were putting out this story. Easy: it was an excuse. They couldn't find the guy, so he must be a master of disguise. He's gay, hell, he's prolly a drag queen too!
Cunanan had reached a point in his criminal career when he was not quite human to the cops any more. They were pissed off. Not because he killed a bunch of people, but because he was getting away with it. Obviously I was happy that Cunanan did us all a favor by offing himself. But I was also extremely interested in what they didn't find on the houseboat where he shot himself. There was no women's clothing there.
I'm not going to pretend that there are not people who cross-dress and commit crimes. Of course there are, just like there are gays, straights, blacks, whites, Latinos, Asians and even police officers, who commit crimes.
But I also know how the media works. Trust me, if we were a powerful minority group the press would not have dared print or broadcast an unattributed comment like that in a major international story, at least not without talking to us. You know who the media contacted? Michael Salem. You know who Salem is? A non-TG merchant who runs that overpriced clothing store in New York.
The non-reaction of gay organizations to this part of the Cunanan story was interesting too. There was nothing from any of the gay anti-defamation groups about the phony cross-dressing story. Not surprising really. As well meaning and supportive as many of these organizations are, the truth is that they do not think in the same way we do about these issues. My gay friends said they thought the press handled the entire sordid story with great restraint. Yeah, I said, except for the drag part.
As if we needed further proof, this story again proved why we need an effective, well-funded TRANSGENDER anti-defamation group that can respond swiftly to this kind of crappy journalism. We don't have this now. I am hoping that the new umbrella organization I wrote about last month will incorporate this activity as a major part of its' operations.
We need a voice. A loud one. And we need it right away.
ast week TGForum carried a report about a creep named
Cliff Stearns (Email: cstearns@hr.house.gov ), who somehow got himself elected to the U.S. Congress from Florida and is using the weight of that office to try and get a transgender state government worker disciplined or fired.
Stearns, who has no jurisdiction in such matters, has been pressuring Florida state legislators to put heat on the state agency that employs a TG named Sabrina Robb, who began wearing clothes appropriate to her gender identity a few months ago. Someone didn't like it, Stearns heard about and the harassment began.
Not surprisingly, once the story got out here at TGF Stearns' office has been bombed with emails. A woman who wouldn't identify herself, admitted that they had received "quite a lot" of mail on the subject in the last week. Stearns did not return phone calls.
Once again, our people have come through, as we did in the Holiday Inn TS ad fiasco. This story isn't done however and I'll keep you posted on what happens as I find out.
Hate to beat the same drum over and over, but can there be a clearer example of why this community needs a focussed, clear-on-the-issues, organization that fights for us? Jobs, family and anti-defamation. Those are the issues that matter most to us.
Are any of our leaders paying attention?
on't you love those Friday night calls from telemarketers? For a laugh and some silly ideas for getting revenge go to: Telemarketing Tormenting Techniques.
Myra Breckenridge (1970) |
According to Andie Blank, a long-time TGF member, "Raquel was NOT at all happy with the wigs that were supplied to her by Blake Edwards. She happened to go to my wigmakers (who also do RuPaul) at Barry Hendrickson's Bits and Pieces. Gwen and Edward. Their work is unbelievably great. I was lucky enough to catch her on her way out with one of the pieces. Raquel certainly was happy with what she bought. I was amazed to see her picture in the NY Daily News wearing the one I saw."
The wigs at this shop are definitely NOT for the budget minded, but Andie says that cost is more than worth it. The shop is at 226 Columbus Avenue (between 70th and 71st Streets, phone 212-787-3941).
Back to Racquel. The New York Times found her totally unconvincing as a man, but as a 56-year-old woman "she is a wonder of the physical world."
Racquel, has done TG turns before of course. In 1970 she played Myra Breckenridge after the sexchange operation. Looked pretty convincing too.
