He for She UN Campaign

An earlier blog entry of mine Like a Girl tried to describe that many criticisms or insults to Trans M2F in particular, also constituted a criticism of real females and vice versa.

Whilst not new I recently I heard of this campaign from Cami’s Crossdressing Canopy (Podcast) fronted by Emma Watson (Harry Potter). Essentially a campaign for equal rights for women all over the world. A very good cause. 

However it’s also a campaign for human equality regardless of gender or anywhere in-between as Emma’s launch speech says towards the third quarter of the speech.

Please watch the speech.
Emma Watson’s moving UN Speech (11mins)

As many Trans people like myself live much of their life in male mode please allow your male side to go vote and add your real male email address and name to the list. Just takes two mins (if that).

Go tell people and small step by small step help change the world.

HeforShe campaign website

Cami's Crossdressing Canopy

Just a quick shout out for a great podcast I listen too by Cami Aeris. Short sweet shots of common sense and Trans related issues.

Link to the podcast and read Cami's Blog here

On the shores of an evolutionary ocean

(There are quite a few TED talk links in this post)

So I confess this blog goes somewhat beyond gender issues per se, but hey if your gonna dream, dream of dragons! As an inspirational start point I offer this short clip of Peter Weyland's 2023 TED Talk, essentially a viral for Prometheus the Movie.

The focus of this post is pretty simple. What does it mean to be trans in the much, much, broader sense? The short answer is almost every human is Trans - they just don’t know it. In the same way as we don’t appreciate that we travel through the universe at 390 kilometers per second - most just don’t see the changes so they don't know or want to believe.

Not one of us can really see the future. Saying this or that will happen in ten or fifteen years is not the point. The point is our journey and our attitude whilst moving along it. It is often mentioned that we predict landscape of the future from the perspective of the landscape the past, which may be true. But that shouldn’t mean we should be limited in our potential view of the future. Or put anther way, why accept yesterdays limitations today - or tomorrow.

As an example this article describes a woman of over 100 years old who despite only living 400 miles from the ocean had never seen it before. I use it as a metaphor to show how the future can be more...

And so on to today and tomorrow. Some time ago I watched this TED talk on the next stage of human evolution, “Homo-evolutus”. Or read the perhaps easier to digest blog - HighExistance.

It describes how humans will soon be in a position to determine their physical and possibly mental evolution on a needs or want’s basis to a point where defining exactly what a human is, may be difficult. In many ways I’d argue that M2F and F2M Trans people have been initiating this process for decades. Leading the way as it were emotionally if not technologically. But the real point on this talk (to me and this post) really implies that if we think changing your gender is radical, in the future people will wonder why we were concerned about such relatively minor change?

Looking further ahead, and nothing directly to do with Trans issues, other than the acceptance that we can and should have the right to be able to be what we want to be - is what comes after Homo-evolutus or what next?

I would argue Homo-evolutus may become or may better be called Homo-potentialus?

So, we are on the verge of the intelligence revolution which will change our society in far greater ways than the industrial revolution ever did. See this TED talk for reference. If you want to skip the first 7 mins that’s when the stats come in ;)

The outcome of this can only be what I’d term Homo-potentialus, meaning worrying about a fixed gender (a fixed anything) is like a caveman arguing with an astronaut, about how far they can throw a rock.

Like many stories or posts on this subject most of us in our daily lives don't have any direct control over the issues mentioned. However, like a passenger in an increasingly speeding car, we can learn how to lean into the corners and be empathetic to the changes.

So it is about attitude and how we use our minds. As humans we now rarely fight for patches of earth or the carcass, at least as individuals. Yet the old attitudes persist with some. Let us evolve. Let us be more. Let us be more than we were told we should be, could be. For you will always be you. Now isn't that trans' at heart?

As a sign off I quote Rocket Racoon from Guardians of the Galaxy...

“Ain't no thing like me 'cept me.”

I couldn't find the right clip on You Tube so if you want to see the actual quote , you'll need to watch the movie :)

like a girl

Is there a basic and general problem with femininity? Not just for a guy but for a girl? It just seems to me that there is a connection between how men relate to women and how society relates to crossdressers or anyone in a transitionary gender?

This is a general point and whilst there are many enlightened people in the world I think they tend to be overcast by the majority on this issue, as it is a fairly deep social one.

So the point is. Does society (regardless of gender) view femininity as a negative? Whilst there are rare accounts of the matriarchal role in human civilisation and society one can’t help but imagine the battle they had to go through to get there, being a very rare exception to the rule.

In the past it was the loudness of your voice and your strength or aggression that often dictated your leadership candidate. Add intelligence and you had an even better chance. By and large it was a male dominated world often for fair reason especially in day to day dealings where most religions down talked the role of women. Many still do…

In this climate a culture of down-talking females and their ability was almost natural. Individuals or families maybe didn’t see it this way but culture and society did. As Kay said on MiB

“A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky dangerous animals and you know it.” 

Unfortunately society is often a reflection of group mentality.

This commercial Ad’ shows how the terminology that we use in society can propagate dogmatic re-belief even by the victims of it - 

'Always' Like a girl Ad'

If a male want’s to allow themselves more feminine attributes (could be cross dressing or just wearing make up or simply being more sensitive) and someone insults them or talks them down, are they not often simply insulting femininity as a whole? I mean why would a man want to be like a woman in any way?!

Ever since the war effort exemplified by the poster above women have rightly gone on, not without issue to become more full members in society yet retained their rights to be feminine in places they work and clothes they wear. The right to wear make-up or not etc. Whilst men, like ancient guards at a city gate seem to have moved little in their self expression.

Deliberately provocative statement and not one I believe. However I do believe this is how many guys (and possibly girls) on the street understand it. So is the message here it’s ok for a woman to ’step-up’ to be more like a man, but not for a man to ’step-down’ and be more accepting of their feminine side. If so, do you believe it? Where do you place value in human society?

Feel Good

Sometimes being Trans / CD / Tgirl whatever can feel a little like Alice tumbling down the rabbit hole. But you know falling can be fun. It's the landing you need to worry about...

Okies so let's think of starting 2015 Feeling good. As I say, it's often not the best feeling to be Trans or whatever as we aren't the norm' and don't always appear to fit-in, but I like to look at the flip-side of this. In what is becoming a trademark I'm stealing bits of other things to put my point over. The first is taken from one of my regular emails from,

Steppingoutsecrets

Lucille Sorella gave ten benefits to being Transgender but I've whittled it down to five as I thought the others, whilst valid could easily apply to say, hiking or aerobics ;)

Five very good things about being Transgender

1. It allows you to integrate the best of both genders into your personality.  
2. It motivates you to stay in shape and take care of yourself. (A girl’s gotta look good, right?)
3. It makes you more empathetic towards women.
4. It makes you an interesting person. (Normal is boring!)
5. It gives you more compassion towards others who don’t fit the norms of society. Important one that!

My second piece of inspiration comes from Avril Lavigne's "Anything but Ordinary" track. You can hear it on You tube here,

Avril Lavigne - Anything but ordinary

But it's really the lyrics that make it. Here is the main section and it describes very well how I often feel and in some way I'm proud of being and well, it makes me feel good!

To walk within the lines
Would make my life so boring
I want to know that I 
Have been to the extreme
So knock me off my feet
Come on now give it to me
Anything to make me feel alive

Is it enough to love?
Is it enough to breathe?
Somebody rip my heart out
And leave me here to bleed
Is it enough to die?
Somebody save my life
I'd rather be anything but ordinary please
I'd rather be anything but ordinary please.

Let down your defences
Use no common sense
If you look you will see 
that this world is a beautiful 
accident turbulent suculent 
opulent permanent, no way
I wanna taste it 
Don't wanna waste it.

Sometimes I get so weird
I even freak myself out
I laugh my self to sleep
It's my lullaby

Equal rights? Not according to the DMV in the USA.

DMV forces gender non-conforming South Carolina teen to remove makeup for license photo

Hardly a new article but I don’t think the DMV should tell people they can’t wear make up. Oh, wait a moment, they don’t say that to girls, only boys. And there was I under the mistaken belief men and women should have equal rights and be treat as people?

I think this boy, which is how he identifies, looked fine. The make up was tasteful and not in any way overdone or a ‘disguise’. Still some work to be done on equality I think!

Here is the original article link,

DMV forces gender non-conforming South Carolina teen to remove makeup for license photo

Girly-Boy

So I was prompted to add this to the blog as it just makes sense to me and it will probably directly apply to most readers or passers by. In addition to the TED talk posted here:

Johanna Blakley: Social media and the end of gender - TED talk

I was inspired by ‘steppingoutsecrets.com’

Stepping Out Secrets - Male to Female Transformation Program 

Quote from Stepping Out Secrets,

Rather than getting hung up on passing vs. not passing, I suggest you make it your goal to “blend in” instead.
Blending in means you look girly enough NOT to stand out in a negative way - even if you aren’t 100% passable.
Most people don’t scrutinize everybody around them, so unless there’s something glaringly off about you, you are unlikely to attract a second glance.
Does this mean everybody will think you are a genetic woman? Probably not. But it doesn’t matter.
The happiest crossdressers and transgender women I know don’t care whether they pass or not. They care about being themselves.
Passing is great when it happens, but there’s nothing wrong with being seen as the classy crossdresser or transgender woman that you are!
As long as you choose the right environment and present yourself well, you are likely to be met with acceptance.

And so to my blog bit.

Jodie is the name I chose to explore my gender but it's not the first I've used in the journey and may well not be the name I'd chose were I to 'technically' transition fully - whatever that means. Currently I don’t really intend being a full-on-girl. Arn't I really just exploring me?

Either way, being man or woman in the modern and future world should be about being a person first and a gender second. This is slowly happening for both women and men. The difference is women are generally more open and encouraging whereas men typically resist internal change. This again is probably largely due to survival traits dating back over the centuries if not millennia.

So on the question as to which side of the fence do I sit - or do I sit on the fence?

Answer - Well I really don’t see the fence.

I understand that there are those who are transitioning with a clear goal but I don’t feel that’s where I’m at. If you are, I wish you gods speed and the best of futures.

For myself and the others in a form of happy gender limbo, hopefully we can all relax a little more at Christmas and enjoy being rather than trying to be too much more. Until 2015!