Archive for August, 2008
Crossdressing Book for the Transgendered
Just a few years ago books and resources on crossdressing and the transgendered experience were hard to come by. These days though many authors have stepped forward to write transgendered books that detail their experience and provide hope and encouragement to many out there who are struggling with gender identity disorder.
Get Dressed! by Gina Lance is a recently published
Transgender Book
the full title of which is Get Dressed! Breaking Out Of The Crossdressing Closet.
Gina takes a different approach than many other transgender books I’ve read. Rather than trying to cater to both a confused crossdresser and her even more confused spouse Gina’s book is written primarily for the transgendered among us.
She takes you on the roller coaster ride of her transgendered experience, starting with her fear and sharing her unique path to acceptance.
I enjoyed Gina’s writing style immensely - each paragraph was filled with fun and her stories further inspired me to believe that the transgendered journey can be both exhilarating and life transforming.
The wisdom is kept until the latter pages of this book, leaving the transvestite and crossdressers among us to savor the experience before grappling with our own reality. In dispensing advice Gina shows she’s not just a pretty face but a keen mind as well. My favorite paragraph in the book is (emphasis mine):
Being transgendered doesn’t work unless you have pride in yourself. Oh sure, it works for awhile if you are new and finally out of the crossdressing closet. The adrenaline rush of those first early moments overcomes all other thoughts you might have. And that’s great! That’s how it should be. The release of your feminine side that has been repressed all those many years is exciting It’s like a giant 100 lb gorilla being lifted off your back.
Once you’ve gotten past the first dozen times of getting out and meeting others, it’s time to put your brain in order. Feel good about yourself! You’re a great person who shares her male self with a feminine persona. Or maybe you’ve taken a step to live as a woman, both mentally and physically. Don’t be depressed because you feel different. Just do it! Celebrate yourself and show pride in who you are.
Gina, thank you for your contribution to transgendered literature!
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P.S. In the interests of full disclosure: Gina was kind enough to give me a copy of her book to review, but her positive review was entirely the result of her well written book.
If you would like me to review your product please email me at vanessalaw@crossdresserheaven.com. I can’t promise you a good review, but if your product is of interest to the transgender or crossdressing community I’m happy to post my thoughts on it to Crossdresser Heaven.
Do What You Love…
For the last few weeks it seems as though the only crossdressing related activity I’ve engaged in is moving Crossdresser Heaven to a new server (phew!). I haven’t had much time to wear womens clothes, let alone write any new articles. When I sat down the other day to write another article I realized just how much I miss writing. And how much I enjoy it.
I had been letting the busy-ness of life get in the way of something I love doing. Even though I could probably have made some time, I found I was much better at making excuses - I’m too tired, I’m not inspired, nothing has happened this week worth writing about. On and on the excuses came. I was sabotaging my own enjoyment.
As I was thinking about this, I realized that we all do this in regards to crossdressing as well. My advice to you is to do what you love…
Even if it’s wearing womens clothes!
We seem to find even more reasons not to crossdress. There are the all too common trio of guilt, shame and unintentional discovery. Once I moved past those, I encountered such debilitating excuses as "I feel fat" (sheesh - woman’s plus size clothing is out there if that’s really a problem). Then another favorite of mine "It’s too much work for one day / weekend". One would think wearing woman’s clothing was a chore reserved for … well … women.
As I’m listing out all these excuses I forget how much I enjoy it. I’ve sacrificed what I love for a plethora of lousy excuses.
So girls, get out there and have some fun! Don’t stop yourself from enjoying this gift you’ve been giving!
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P.S. If you are struggling to come to terms with your desire to crossdress, I highly recommend Helen Boyd’s book - My Husband Betty. It’s one of the best books I’ve read yet on crossdressing and the transgender experience.
Crossdresser Beauty Lessons
Dear readers, I’m pleased to introduce Jamie, accomplished crossdresser and author of the transgendered girl’s best friend: The World’s Best Cross Dressing Guide. Jamie has been kind enough to share some of her crossdressing wisdom, as I’m sure we could all use some pointers as we learn how to crossdress!
A girl’s informal beauty lessons and training start by nursery age and by her teens she will already have spent hundreds, if not thousands, of hours practicing and experimenting. Mothers teach daughters how to dress and how to look after their skin. Older sisters teach younger sisters
how to add volume to lifeless hair. Girls teach each other about eyeliner, nail polish, hemlines and high heels. Therefore, many people believe if a man were not brought up female, he would never be able to join the cult of womanhood since femininity is so complicated. Some men may fear exposing their ignorance if they put anything designed for women onto their male bodies since men did not get the years of training girls get growing up.
Men wear female clothes for a number of reasons. Some men believe themselves to be female trapped inside male’s bodies, some men dress for a sexual thrill, a sexual turn-on, and some men do this to express another side to their personality.
Crossdressing is also a lot of fun. Not just for transsexuals but also for many people in the transgendered community: crossdressers, drag queens, female impersonators, and the simply curious.
Probably one of the toughest jobs a transgendered person has to learn to be accepted as a female when out in public. So, for many crossdressers, crossdressing means much more than wearing female clothing. It also involves acquiring or imitating more complex feminine attributes and behaviors - including posture, mannerisms, and speech patterns. Acquiring such skills can bring great personal satisfaction but is also necessary for crossdressers who want to avoid attracting too much attention while crossdressed in public. Therefore, the purpose of this guide is to help you to pass as a genetic female, to increase the possibility of you being accepted as a real woman in the public.
To pass more convincingly as a woman be sure not to miss other valuable tips in Jamie’s crossdressing guide.
America’s Top Transgender Model
It has final happened! America’s Top Model has admitted that one of their top girls may be a transgender model. This has already provoked great interest from the main stream media and blogs across the Internet. A transgender modeling competition is nothing new, in fact tgirl models have had their own competition for many years, with the Miss International Queen beauty pageant hosting an international competition for transvestite models from around the world.
At least this time around, most media outlets are looking forward in anticipation to see how Isis fairs in the competition. The move by America’s top model has also drawn praise from the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation.
Isis, who looks like an Egyptian goddess has a good chance of taking the modeling world by storm. At least, if her current ability to strut her stuff (in the video below) is any indication.
No transgender model would be complete
Without some fox bashing. Predictably, Fox news has already derided Isis with their venom filled and ignorant coverage, using inappropriate pronouns and offensive references to her anatomy.
I wish Isis the best of luck. She has taken a courageous step, and has an opportunity to represent the transgender community in a positive light to millions of viewers.
Welcome to the new Crossdresser Heaven
If you’re wondering why articles have been scarce on my website - wonder no more! For the last week I’ve been fervently working to move Crossdresser Heaven to a new web server and on to the Wordpress platform. This should make the website look better, load faster and let me add nifty new features for you to explore.
I’m almost finished the move, so I thought rather than let you keep looking at the old website, I’d switch over and do some of the cosmetic changes and clean up after the switch. In theory everything should be working correctly. If you can’t comment on a post, or find a broken link please let me know!
We’ve got some good articles coming over the next few weeks, and a special series of articles by Jamie, author of every crossdresser’s best friend - The World’s Best Crossdressing Guide, and a review of a new book by Gina Lance.
Thanks for your patience, now lets get dressing!
-Vanessa
Should Gays Be Allowed To Marry (and other interesting questions)
Surely people who oppose gay marriage are religious radicals. Those who think we should increase military spending are warmongering knuckleheads. And anyone who questions whether we should end our dependence on foreign oil either works for Exxon-Mobile or likes to shoot at their friends on weekend hunting trips.
The truth is actually a bit more complicated than that. It’s often easy to see those with a contrary point of view as bigoted, radical, self-serving or any number of unflattering adjectives. It’s a lot harder to consider that they have valid, rational, well thought out point of view.
You Decide, created by KQED has made it easy to see the other’s perspective and weigh opinions contrary to your own in a very approachable, non-threatening way. Every two weeks they’ll ask a new question that is controversial and give you an opportunity to learn why others have a different opinion.
Socrates said that “The unexamined life is not worth living.” I think “The unexamined opinion is not worth having.” Go to You Decide, answer a question. Make sure your opinion is worth having.
If you would like to see a future question about crossdressing or the transgendered experience on You Decide, email ednet@kqed.org. Let them know your thoughts, and ask them to include a question related to the transgendered in the future.
Transgendered Bathrooms Hit Thailand Schools
Schools in Thailand have the right idea. According to a recent story from the BBC, 
a provincial school in Thailand is offering transgendered children their own toilet!
This compromise was reached since the students who identified themselves as transgendered were teased and belittled for using the boy’s bathroom. The girl’s were uncomfortable with them using their bathroom, since the transgendered children weren’t presenting as girls.
I found it interesting that the school was willing to accommodate their students with a third bathroom, yet still require they wear male clothes, and not allow them to wear makeup.
I think it’s a tremendous step forward, in a country where 10%-15% of children identify as transgendered. Yet I can’t help wondering whether this is another form of half acceptance. “At least they’re not wearing makeup”, sounds awfully like many a crossdressers claim that “at least I’m not gay”.
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P.S. Even though the children in Thailand can’t look dress as girls, you can look like the fabulous woman you are - learn how to crossdress and pass as a genetic girl!
