Well Played Germany…well played

Came across this article on Germany now allowing children born with an unspecific gender at birth to be classified as a third sex. Very interesting! Good choice Germany. I think now that this is an available option we’ll probably find the number of children born with characteristics of both sexes is higher than many would think.

(German parents will no longer be legally obliged to register their newborn child as male or female, and will instead be officially allowed to assign the baby a “third gender” if the sex cannot be clearly identified at birth.

The new law will come into force on November 1, on the back of a constitutional court decision which states that as long as a person “deeply feels” that they belong to a certain gender, they have a personal right to choose how they legally identify themselves.

Parents of newborn infants will be allowed to leave the gender form on the child’s birth certificate completely blank if it is born with unusual physical characteristics making it impossible to determine the gender.

The new law will apply to intersexuals, also known as hermaphrodites, rather than transsexuals. Hermaphrodites are people in possession of both female and male physical characteristics.

Justice Minister Sabine Leuthheusser-Schnarrenberger said the decision will have deep repercussions and will require “comprehensive reform” of all documents issued by the state. Adult passports currently require people to state their gender, partly to avoid potential problems when traveling abroad.

The ‘third gender’ designation will also have an effect on marriage laws. As of now, only men and women are allowed to legally marry in the country. Homosexual couples can enter into a civil partnership, and no provisions are made for unions between other genders.

Germany is the first European country to implement such legislation, although Australians have allowed citizens to mark their gender on a passport as X since 2011. New Zealand followed suit last year. Activists in both countries say the legislation has helped curb discrimination against transsexuals and those of indeterminate gender, whether they have had gender reassignment surgery or not.

Silvan Agius, policy director at human rights organisation ILGA Europe – the European branch of the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association – told Spiegel newspaper that the decision will push the rest of the EU to do the same.

“Germany’s move will put more pressure on Brussels,” Agius said. “That can only be a good thing.”)

ARTICLE COPIED FROM RT.COM FORSHARING PURPOSES

My Transsexual Summer

So I came upon My Transsexual Summer a British series following 7 trans peeps in their journies. They are all over the gender identity spectrum and in various spots in the transitions and it’s a really fab show.
Kind of like big brother only they go home during the week…well,and they are all trans 😉

In episode one we get to know all of the shows stars and hear about their experiences and it is so lovely to get to see them sharing in an environment where not only do they feel safe but they feel a level of comprehension and comraderie they’ve never before had.
I can’t wait to watch the next episode 🙂
Have you seen it?
Did you like it?
Find it helpful/interesting?

Blog draaaaammmaaaa

Hey all, so as you may or may not have noticed I have been gone for ages as I was locked out of my email and this blog account but I am baaaack 🙂
And happy to bring you more trans related info/fashion/beauty etc etc infinitum;) hooooray!

Icing on the Cake Boss

So I just happened upon this article in Lezgetreal.com about the TLC show CAKE BOSS and a prank they apparently pulled on one of their shows. The episode in question (Bar Mitzvah, Beads & Oh Baby!) showcased trans model Carmen Carrera who you may know from Ru Paul’s reality show DRAG RACE.
I’ll start off by saying that I have never seen CAKE BOSS before, but I did find clips from the episode that they were talking about so that I could see first hand what the big kerfuffle was all about.
I will agree that they did make a big joke of the situation in a sort of “Ha ha! Gotcha, you kissed a dude!” sort of way and I like to believe that Carmen saw the episode going a different direction but, I mean, really?! Let’s get real. It’s a reality TV show to start off with, the whole point of which is to generate ratings and cause sensation (mission accomplished) and let’s not pretend that the classiest, most intelligent, open minded people go on these shows (if they did it would make for fairly boring viewing for most people) I mean seeing as these are the people who brought TODDLERS AND TIARAS to the world I find it a bit of a stretch that Carrera could be blissfully unaware that something like this could happen. I also don’t like the idea of tricking or pranking someone like this in the first place. The whole premise of the joke was that she was not a genetically born female so to see how any transgendered woman could feel it would somehow further the cause of the transgendered community to participate in something like this is beyond me.
Yesterday she released a statement on her facebook page stating,
“LET ME MAKE THIS VERY CLEAR! LISTEN UP PEOPLE! I signed on to do this episode of “Cake Boss” to promote EQUALITY. Transgender women are just as beautiful as biological woman and should be respected for that. The “reveal” was never meant to be a “Jerry Springer, ‘THATS A MAN’…” kind of thing. I was promised that it wasn’t going to be that way. I was lied to. I dont promote misleading someone or putting down the trans community. I am a beautiful transgendered woman and if a guy hits on me at a bar, ITS OK! That was the message. Hearing things like “You’ll never be a real woman” or “I hope you burn in hell for changing your gender” or “You will always be a man” is the EXACT TYPE OF IGNORANCE THAT THIS SHOW HELPED TO PROMOTE. This is why Im so upset. If men find me attractive and treat me as lady, why do some of you people think its wrong??? Why are some of you trying to take that away from me like I dont deserve to be treated with respect and admiration? Ignorance, thats why. STOP THE HATE AND PASS THIS ON.”
She has since created a petition which you can go sign online at change.org (a great website where you too can create and pass on a petition on any cause you feel needs attention) to ask that TLC and the producers of CAKE BOSS issue a public appoligy to the transgender community.
Ok…. I am having a tough time with this one. Do I think that TLC made a mistake just for the sake of ratings and that what they did was a cheap underhanded attack on the transgender community and that they should issue a public appoligy. Yes, yes I do. I also however believe that Carmen Carrera is out for her own like most people who choose to spotlight themselves for reality telivision. It’s not as though she has not been on them in the past and doesn’t know how they opperate. I don’t see how any reasonably intelligent person could see this sort of “prank” going any other direction given the reality tv setting and the people involved. I also don’t like how after the prank was over she commented that “Ladies out there, all you need to do is dress really really cute (ie slutty), put on some pink lip gloss, and anthony will be all over you.” or how in her FB statement she said “transgender women are as beautiful as biological women and should be respected for that”. I get the sentiment, but beauty in my book is not something that denotes respect. Intelligence, fortitude, strength, these to me are qualities that we should be paying our respects.
Transgendered, born female, male or otherwise I am so sick of people tell women that if they take their tits out and slap on some makeup then they can finally be appealing to men, like that should be our greatest goal in life. It is degrading to all women and insulting to intelligent men and women everywhere to think that the most valuable thing a woman can be is beautiful. Maybe I sound a little preachy and soapboxy but excuse me if I think that a persons actions and accomplishments should speak louder than the size of her breasts or the shine of her hair.
As a hair and makeup artist my job is to help people feel more beautiful and give them the tools to feel more confident so I don’t pretend to be above societal conventions of beauty, but I do feel that ones appearance should only be a small portion of what they focus on, the rest should be on the inside because, hate to break it to you, but no matter how lovely you may be to look at today some day we will all be old and wrinkled (if we should be so lucky) and all that will be left of us will be what we’ve culitvated in our brains and what we’ve accomplished with our lives which will hopefully be something quite a lot more marvelous than the way a perfectly shaped ass can look in a spandex miniskirt.
So I guess in the end the way I feel is :
TLC – Don’t be dicks! Try to raise the bar a bit and get a little classy…I know it’s not your style, but just give it a whirl!
Carmen – If you want to be taken seriously, or more importantly if you want the transgender community to be taken seriously then don’t make yourself into a joke in the first place. Be a woman of substance, the world already has too many Snookies.
Have a watch here and judge for yourself. What do you think of the situation?

Isis King and American Apparel

Some of you may or may not be watchers of Americas Next Top Model, but if you are then you would have been introduced to Isis King.  Isis was the first transgender model on ANTM and she’s just been featured in the Ad campaign for American Apparel sporting their line of gay pride T-shirts with 15% of profits from the line going to GLADD.
Now personally I’m not a huge fan of American Apparel, generally I think everything in there is over priced and intentionally unflattering..that being said I’m totally in support of this campaign from head to overpriced  cameltoe (ie, what you’ll have if you try to wear gold, spandex, highwaisted leggings..just saying”.
So what do you think? You gonna rush out and get your T-shirt today? 
 

 

On the taxpayer dollar?

An interesting debate is going on in the US at the moment. In the US according to new guidelines that have been set forth for the the Customs Enforcement agency, when dealing with an illegal immigrant who identifies as transgendered the agency would be obligated to provide the detained person with hormone therapy while in custody if they were on the treatment prior to being detained.
Some believe that providing that level of medical treatment to illegal immigrants is an unfair reward for evading the law. Others argue that it is a medical expense well worth while since abruptly stopping someones hormone therapy could cause medical issues that cost even more in the end and that while in custody they deserve to have full medical treatment.
Honestly, I think it’s a crime that illegal immigrants and those who are in prison receive better medical care than the rest of the US population in general, but that’s not to say I think that those people should not continue to receive proper medical treatment. What I am saying is that not only do I think that those in custody should get treatment but that everyone else should too…health seems like it should be a right, not a privilege ..but maybe that’s just me? Thoughts? Comments?
To read more about it check out this article by FOX NEWS

…But what about when you’re 80?

Go Granny..It's ya birthday!

You know how people say there are no stupid questions? That’s true. There are no stupid questions…only stupid people with questions equal in intellect to the asker. Ok, this is a bit off topic, and not specific to transgendered beauty, but it is related to conceptions of beauty and how people see and judge you by what’s on the outside rather than the inside or your actions so….close enough yeah? I was doing some reading on redeyechicago.com and got side tracked by this article.

Badassery example #1

Girls with the saggin’tattoos The article is basically about all the cool people with cool tattoos who are young but “Oh lordy lordy, what will they ever do when they are old and saggy and all their cool ink is droopy and wrinkled?!”. This article annoyed me maybe more so than it would have normally, but I’ve been asked by two strangers on the street in the past week “But what about when you get old? Do you think you’ll regret those tattoos?”.

Literal badassery

In case you were wondering, yes I do have quite a bit of ink on me and that was not the first, nor I am sure will it be the last time I am asked a similar question. So in answer to the question..What about when I am 80? Well I can tell you a few things I will be and a few things I won’t.
I WILL…Be 80! Hip hip hooray! I have lived to be 80! So nothing to complain about on that front..

I WILL…
Be tattooed. Yup, they are permanent. And I intend to keep mine. I could spend lots of money and time and pain to get them removed with lasers but I don’t see myself doing that. I see all of the tattoos that I have as markers through time of the things I have done, and places I have gone, and interests I have had. And whether they lose meaning over the years I hope it won’t matter. I think of them as souvenirs that I get to take with me always. Better than a bunch a shitty shot glasses that end up in the salvation army.

Not your grandma's grandma!

I WILL…
Be the same rockstar awesome person that I am now..only hopefully older and wiser. The tattoos on the outside of my body do not change who I am. They may change the way you perceive me..but that’s really your closed mindedness and prejudice and not my problem to fix.

Lookin' good from here!

I WILL NOT….
Be concerned with other peoples opinions of me. I am young…relatively, at this point in my life and I can tell you now I am already not very concerned with other peoples opinions about the way I choose to look. I like my style, my hair, my tattoos, my makeup and to those who have contradictory opinions to mine..will la di da for you. I like to think that the older I get the more secure in my tattooed skin I will become and the less I will care what others think of me.

Yeah..that's right! That's what I'm talkin' about!

I WILL NOT…
Be job hunting. I very much hope that in my ripe old age I am not having to seek employ to support myself. I like to think that when I am in my 80’s I will be happily living off the toils of my youth and not trying to get a job in a bank or waiting tables or anywhere else for that matter that would care two bits whether I have tats from head to toe.

Boo Ya!

I WILL NOT…
Be Alone. Have a look around! Have you noticed just how many people these days have tattoos? As tattoos become less of a stigma and more of an art form and self expression outlet more and more people from every walk of life are choosing to go in for some ink. So I am hardly likely to be the only old person rockin’ ancient ink.

So hopefully that answers that question. Not that I think it will stop strangers from questioning me on the street, because I doubt they read my website. Just the same, maybe this gives a few of you a little insight.

Rock and roll all night AND PARTY EVERY DAY!

On a side note…I don’t believe in regret. I think it’s a wasted emotion and energy that would be better spent on shaping the future you would like to have than wishing the past were different.
And as a side side note, I have a theory that if there is money to be made in something then there is someone working to find a way to make money at it. And as there is definitely money to be made in cheap, fast, pain free tattoo removal, I am sure that there is someone working on it. Somewhere there is some scientist working on a pill you will get over the counter at the pharmacy for $10 that makes you pee out all the ink in your body over night. So not need to worry!

I bet if you ask her...she thinks she looks awesome...and I bet she doesn't care what you think.

As a side side side note…if you really think about it, is it appropriate to ask strangers on the street personal questions about their appearance? Do I come up to you and ask you if you regret putting on those unflattering, flat front, pleated, beige cargo pants? No I do not….though maybe I should.
Anyway this has been a very long answer to the question but the short answer would be that when I am 80 I will be freakin’ awesome!

And if you happen to get lucky...

Thoughts on tattoos? Beauty constructs? Social acceptability of annoying strangers on the street with stupid questions?

And the winner of the Miss Universe Pageant is….

EQUALITY! Yay! So you remember the big hullabaloo I mentioned a while back about the Canadian Miss Universe contestant Jenna Talackova being disqualified because she is transgendered? Well hip hip hooray the people over at the Miss Universe contest seem to be moving with the times.

She's a layday whoooaaa oh oh she's a laydaaaay! So treat her like one!

After much discussion with groups like GLADD and of course the publicity the case drew the officials at Miss Universe have decided to include transgendered women in the competition!
So maybe the squeaky wheel does get the grease after all! Well played Jenna, GLADD, an a tip of the hat to the Miss Universe organisation for stepping up and doing the right thing.
If you want to read more about the story you can check out info at The Daily Caller

Aesop beauty goodies!

Hello all my lovely ladies out there! So, recently it was my birthday and as I turned a year older my lovely roomie thought I might need some creams and potions to help me feel a bit younger ; )
She was sweet enough to gift upon me an assortment of beauty goodies from the natural based beauty company Aesop.
She gave me quite the beauty bundle so let us begin the review!
The first product I tried was the Rosehip Seed Lip Cream. This is an interesting product. Unlike most lip creams and balms it is not like a balm at all it really is a light cream with the texture of say an eye cream. It’s a bit herbally in taste and smell like most of their products and it does do a good job of moisturising lips..however I tend to like something a bit heavier that sits on the lips and doesn’t get absorbed like this cream does. This would be the perfect product though if you have dry lips but hate to wear lip balm or chapstick. So if you don’t like the feel of something sitting on your lips pick it up and give it a go. I’m gonna give it a 7/10.
The next product I tried out is the Parsley Seed Anti-oxidant eye cream. This I really really like! Again all of their product are all natural and herbally etc..so they do have that sort of herbal hippie smell to them but this one I don’t mind. The cream is really quite perfect. Not too heavy, not too light…absorbs well etc. Is it giving me more youthful line free eyes? Who can say? Maybe? Either way I do like it as much as any eye cream I’ve used in the past so I’m gonna give it a 9/10 …no perfect score because..well there were no miraculous life changing effects..YET!
The next product I tried was the Parsley Seed Cleansing Mask. It was, in a word FANTASTIC! This is everything that I look for in a facial mask. Now, everyone has different things they look for based on their skin needs, but for me this is just what I look for.

Before it dried

After it dried

The mask was smooth and creamy and smelled really lovely. It goes on a sort of peachy nude sort of color and you leave it on for about 15 min and as it dries it turns white. I like masks that dry really tightly like this and this one washed really clean leaving my skin feeling fresh and tight and not like there was any residue. All in all this is just what I look for 10/10, two thumbs up!
The last two products that I tried were body care products. The Geranium Leaf Body Cleanser and Geranium Leaf Body Balm. Both of these products are very nice. The body cleanser has a fresh planty sort of smell as does the body balm. The fragrance is herbal which I don’t usually like but this was mild and it didn’t linger on my skin. The balm absorbed really nicely and didn’t sit on the skin or become too heavy or greasy so over all I am going to give them both a 9/10.
Over all I would say that this is a great skin care line. All of the products are very high quality, work as they say they will and have nice fragrance and clean, simple packaging. This skincare line is available in many countries as well as online so if the idea of natural, herbal skin care products takes your fancy then race over to their site and check them out.
Enjoy!
Aesop.com

In The Life: Becoming Me

In The Life is a great news magazine with a new show called “Becoming me” that came out this month showing a glimpse inside the world of families with transgender and gender non-conforming children. The show delves into the lives of 8 families with children of various ages and various gender identities finding their way through and trying to create the most happy, healthy, children and families that they can. I think it’s a great show and hope that there will be much more of it to come!
I’ve always thought that most people who have a problem with transgendered people only do so because of a lack of understanding. And when people can’t understand something they fear it and when people fear something they decide they don’t like it. It’s a simple, logical series of emotions that get people to that place but with a bit more understanding you take away the fear of the unknown and can hopefully take away the dislike or even hatred that the fear bred.
Shows like this are such a great way to reach people and show them that these children are just like every other child, they just happen to have come in the wrong packaging. And that their families are just like all other families..maybe a little messed up, but generally made up of people who love each other, trying their best to take care of each other the best way they know how.

So have a watch to the full episode here and pass it on to anyone you think might find it interesting, or learn something from it 🙂
Thoughts on the episode?