A couple of weeks ago I posted a survey by TAVA, the transgender veterans association, and they are especially needing to hear from crossdressers. I know you’re out there, so please do respond to the survey!
Sexual Politics
The other night at the Crossdressing: Erotic Stories event, the three of us who read were asked about sexual politics. Veronica Vera’s response really hit the nail on the head, so I asked if she would send me something of a transcript of what she said. Here it is.
The political consequences of sex without guilt are enormous.
enormous.
Our culture is mired in guilt and this has kept us bound in chains of fear and powerlessness, not only about the experience of sex but of the experience of being human. Our institutions of state, church and the media, either through ignorance or guile continue the process.
When we feel guilty, we do not voice our opinions. If we do not voice our opinions, we cannot raise questions. If we do not raise questions, we cannot effect change.
When I gave myself permission to touch myself and my sexuality in all of its aspects, I gave myself permission to feel. I validated my feelings. The right to feel is a basic right and with it comes the right to have an opinion, and what follows is the right to ask questions. We ask questions and we meet others who are asking the same questions and together we create a world.
Crossdressing Erotica Tonight
Tonight, do come to a crossdressing event at the LGBT Center in NYC. Rachel Kramer Bussel’s Crossdressing: Erotic Stories book is the reason for the gathering. I’ll be reading, as will Miss Vera, amongst others.
- Where: LGBT Center, West 13th Street, www.gaycenter.org
- When: 7PM
Do come! It should be a fun night!
The Forgotten Veterans
by Monica Helms
Veterans Day is one the three most important days in this country when it comes to patriotism and pride. At the eleventh minute, of the eleventh hour, of the eleventh day, of the eleventh month, we start the day honoring all the veterans who have served this country, both in peace and in war. Today, we have 26 million military veterans in America, but sadly, we lose 1500 WWII each day and a similar number of Korean War veterans as well. Soon, the Vietnam War veterans will pass away in similar numbers.
The men and women who fought in those wars over the last 230-plus years came from every diverse background this country has ever known. People from every race, religion, ethnicity, economic status, social status and sexual orientation have fought, been wounded or died for this country. A current example of sexual orientation is the first person wounded in the current war in Iraq. Eric Alva lost a leg in the very early days of the war and then came out as being gay after his discharge. Continue reading “The Forgotten Veterans”
Happy Halloween!
It’s International Crossdressing Day! The day all women dress like tramps, & all the men dress like women.
Okay, not all. But a lot.
Have fun. Don’t drink & drive.
On ENDA, on National Coming Out Day
This is the text of the talk I gave in Denver on Tuesday. It probably won’t surprise anyone that I’ve been busting at the seams wanting to have a say in all of the dialogue going on about ENDA. At least I don’t think it should surprise anyone, not by now.
**
First, let me thank Ed and Jordan and all the students who asked them to bring me here. It’s a pleasure to be here in celebration of National Coming Out Day, a pleasure to see all of you gathered, celebrating who you are. Thanks to all the crossdressers, the gays, the lesbians, the genderqueers, the trans men & women, MTF and FTM, & to their partners. Thanks to all of you who are family, or friends, or allies, for being here.
Betty and I have been on tour a lot this year because I had a book published in March, and we’ve gotten a chance, once again, to meet a lot of people and to talk to a lot of trans people and partners, and this year, we’ve met more gay and lesbian people who aren’t trans than we did before. And it’s been a pleasure all around in hearing people’s stories of their own gender variance, or the stories of how they came out to loved ones, or of their first big crush or the moment when they realized they were trans or gay or lesbian or how they came to understand the first identity they understood themselves to be was not quite accurate in the long run. What I love to hear the most is about how queer people find one identity fits for a while and then not at all; like Oliver Wendell Holmes’ chambered nautilus, queer people build themselves bigger chambers, bigger categories, labels that are not so confining, over time.
That’s how it’s been for us, certainly. By the time people get used to what we’re calling ourselves our identities have shifted a little, changed usually by experiences we never expected and wouldn’t trade for anything. Continue reading “On ENDA, on National Coming Out Day”
Crossdressing: Erotic Stories Reading
Two months from today, there’s be an event based on Rachel Kramer Bussel’s Crossdressing: Erotic Stories book, which Veronica Vera wrote the forward to & which includes a story by me. I’ll be reading, as will Miss Vera, amongst others.
- Where: LGBT Center, West 13th Street, www.gaycenter.org
- When: Thursday, November 29th, 7PM
Do come! It should be a fun night!
Carnival of Bent Attractions
This month, I get the pleasure of hosting the ongoing Carnival of Bent Attractions, and there’s a nice sampling of interesting LGBT Bentness to be had:
First, an interview with no other than sex-positive educator Susie Bright from the financially-minded set at Queercents, where we find out Ms. Bright worked in a cathouse but wasn’t getting paid for sex amonst other things;
Then, a review of a Thursday night Transvestite party in Buenos Aires, written by Oliver Hartman and posted on the Argentina’s Travel Blog site. Mr. Hartman didn’t know what to expect, and didn’t seem to know what was what (or who was whom):
I’m not entirely sure when the show ended, but there was some sort of conga line and crazy swan costume involved.
I wonder if it wasn’t a chicken.
Further still, a commentary on Craig’s wide stance on The Agonist, which tries to understand the likes of Craig and how they can claim not to be gay:
Perhaps it’s because many or most of them, like Craig, genuinely think they aren’t gay, despite enjoying gay sex?
& Finally, to wrap things up, SF Brawny Bear answers the question, “What does Bear Pride Mean to You?” on the blog Bear Bones. (But who does Bear bone, exactly?)
Nice roundup. Next month, our various Bent Attractions move on to a new ride at the Carnival.
Crossdressing: Erotic Stories
Rachel Kramer Bussel’s Crossdressing: Erotic Stories
Raised by Ants
While I was poking around project playlist last week in order to bring you a few of my favorite inspiring tracks, I found a reference to some gender-bending of the 80s. A b-side of a Dead or Alive single I don’t care about (although of course Pete Burns is still around & doing hir thing), but the other b-side mentioned was “Greta X” by Adam Ant. The song was written in the late 70s but only produced/released in the mid 80s, and it’s about crossdressing:
I’m a joyous glad TV
Why don’t you come TV with me?
I know a girl who loves to dress me
Up like this and then caress me
To remind me of the way
I used to go both night and day
In femininity there’s pride
We’ll marry soon, I’ll be the bride
& People wonder how I wound up this way, listening to such things at the tender age of 15!
& Yes, I have wondered if Adam’s a CD. I doubt it – he wrote songs about people into rubber and BDSM, too. (Though of course he could be into those things, as well, as far as I know; Amanda Donohue knows for sure but I bet she’s not talking.)