My transgender heroines are no-surgery, no-hormone transwoman who identify as either transsexual or transvestite, live full time or part time as women, and more importantly, do not hide their male roots. For example, people like Paul Whitehead, Grayson Perry, Andrej Pejic, Miqqi Gilbert and Eddie Izzard among others are my heroines.
They are who I want to be.
I recently discovered another: Vladimir Luxuria (photo above) who, according to Wikipedia, "is an Italian actress, writer, politician and television host" and "the first openly transgender member of Parliament in Europe, and the world's second openly transgender MP."
"Although Luxuria lives exclusively as a female, she has not undergone sex change surgery and she remains legally male. She has stated on occasion that she perceives herself as neither male nor female."
Me, too.
Wearing Badgley Mischka.
A womanless beauty pageant contestant (2014).
I feel the same way, being a feminine man is still not quite an option in society as it is so far removed from the stereotype of what males must be to be held in any kind of esteem. Can you imagine what uproar there would be should we force women to strictly adhere to a stereotype!?
ReplyDeleteThese people are also my heroines Stana. You don't need to modify your body to be the person you know you are inside. Nice post......Joanna
ReplyDeleteI'm with you Stana and agree! I believe the younger generation is changing society in ways we won't believe (or see) -gender "roles" are among them.
ReplyDeleteI just hope I live long enough to see the ridiculous "I'm more Trans than you" stigma go away!
Thank you for this post. As I scan on line - Facebook especially - I get the impression that I can only be true to who I REALLY am if I physically change my body. But THAT is not who I "really am" - I am really a male who enjoys expressing his femininity. That is one reason I hesitate to identify myself as transgender and stick to the terms cross dresser or transvestite. Maybe I'm old fashioned, but I prefer to live by the credo of one of the great philosophers of the 20th Century who boldly stated, "I Yam What I Yam and That's All What I Yam."
ReplyDeleteI've read that great philosopher many times and so agree!
DeleteThough by all definition by today's vocabulary I am transgender, but I reality, transgender is not me. Yes, I would be so much more comfortable with my body, f it were female, but I think that more because of social norms, then my norm. With a couple of conforming changes I today could be very happy as a feminine expressive male. And I am. I guess I'm just a Janegirl. Gender/sex opposite of a tomboy. Or as Stana has coined a male who femulates. As it's more about me being feminine, and presenting only to be able to get by without concern for my safety then it is to actually being a woman. I think the world needs to accept transexuality before it can grasp the co sept of femulations in a man. Sad men are still held to archaic stereotypes. Can you imagine doing that to a woman?
This post meant a lot to me, Stana. It came at the right time.
ReplyDeleteA very good post and one that I support. I am a fan of these folks and feel much the same about being out as Julie, Joanna and Crysti. I still see myself as a man who enjoys dressing and presenting as a woman. I would like to do it more often than current opportunities permit.
ReplyDeleteI would add to your list of heroes Stu Rasmussen the TG mayor of Silverton, Oregon. While he does not fully qualify for your 'no-operation' criteria since I believe he has had breast implants I do see him as a pioneer in the concept that men should be allowed to be men and to also express their feminity though their dress and appearance.
Pat
I second the support! I'm not keen on surgery. I do live my life as only I know how.
ReplyDeleteI agree wholeheartedly. I don't see the point of undergoing extensive surgery. I occasionally want to live as a girl, possibly even full time, but I also like being a guy and doing guy things.
ReplyDeleteWell done Stana!
ReplyDeleteHere in Italy Vladimir, which by the way is a male name, is a very well known public person, television entertainer, writer and political and is really a heroin of the Italian and European tg community.
Although Italy is a country not so open to LGBT issues (for instance there is no legal possibility of marriage for people of the same gender and tg persons are seen under old bad cliché), nevertheless Vladimir gives good visibility to all the people that have different habits of life.
Hugs. Betty
Surgeries for us are to correct dysphoria, nothing more. It doesn't give you a better chance at being accepted, but will curb the heckling. History is history...you can hide it, or avoid it, but it doesn't change the fact that we all started as something else. It's cruel to berate each other as trans people, as it does nothing but cause division and separatist groups within our own culture. We have the same enemy, and it's not each other...it's ignorance and bigotry on the outside...let's keep it that way!
ReplyDelete