GENEVIEVE'S GEMS

Acknowledging each person's uniqueness is one step toward respect for our fellow citizen.

Being a Father and Husband

Being a father is one of the greatest responsibilities in society. Fathers mold their sons and daughters to be responsible and productive citizens. Fathers should treat theirs spouses with love and respect. I'm a transgender person who takes this responsibility seriously.

When I discovered that I was a crossdresser and transgender, I wondered how this would affect my family. I've never wanted a lot of things but a good marriage was certainly one. I was also conscious of how this wold affect my relationship with my son. Whether or not I wore women's clothing I was still his father.

Everything has worked out quite well. My wife was shocked when I came out to her. In time she has come to accept my transgenderism. I told my son a year later and he was cool with it. He wondered why I didn't tell him sooner. I'm still the same husband and father I was before declaring my transness. I feel that I'm a better father since I came out because I am complete and liberated.

To all the fatehrs out there, HAPPY FATHERS DAY!

Genevieve

GENEVIEVE'S GEMS

I love you for being you.

Brooklyn Pride

This past Saturday, I attended Brooklyn Pride for the third year in a row. It was the first time I was dressed. I wore a black skirt, aqua blue v-neck pullover, and blue flats. The day was somewhat overcast.

When I arrived there were some protesters across the street. Apparently they didn't like the idea of GLBT pride in the neighborhood. This is the first time that I saw them. I strolled along the street, stopping intermitently. There was a 'marriage equality' booth, a couple of anti-violence groups, and a number of churches represented. I remember two years ago there were only two churches represented. This time there were at least a half dozen churches, a synagogue, and a Muslim group.

I picked up some materials to read. Brooklyn is the only borough (there are 5 in New York City) that does not have an LGBT center. I registered with a group looking to secure a building. I may volunteer if the opportunity comes up. I met a friend from my bible fellowship group. Tom and I were supposed to meet later on but we never did locate each other.

There's ususally a motorcycle parade in the evening but I did not attend. So far as I noticed I was the only crossdresser there. The event is usually six blocks. I do believe that there is room for growth. Brooklyn has over 4 million people and I believe that there are many LGBTQI people in Brooklyn who can use a place to be themselves.

I stayed 2 or 3 hours before heading home. Right now, there are some ideas rumbling through my head. I need to right them down so I can figure out my next move. The desire to support GLBT causes burns within me.

Genevieve

GENEVIEVE'S GEMS

It's a beautiful thing when someone decides to be their true self.

Transgenderist

Last year, I was considering the possibility that I may be a transgenderist. I would define me as somewhere between a crossdresser and transsexual. I don't want to transition or take hormones. I have been dressing more and more. I would live full time as a woman but my marriage is more important.

I am equally comfortable in both genders, but I prefer the feminine. I am complete and liberated when I'm dressed. Also I don't feel constricted by what society says that I'm supposed to be. There are days I feel neither male or female. There are days that I feel that I'm both. I realized that I have crossed another threshold in my journey, something that two years ago I believed would happen.

It is said that life doesn't stand still. My journey hasn't either. I have discovered so much beauty and contentment and adventure. There are many, many genders that thankfully are being explored and embraced. I'm still discovering more about myself and exploring the many expressions of gender. What society thinks about me doesn't matter.

Gennee

Comfirmation of Contentment

I posted a blog on June 4th about my being comfortable in a noisy area. Society is like that noisy lobby. Instead of folks like myself, there are all different kinds of folks on the street, on the train or bus, in the stores, at the hospital or church. Still I feel just as comfortable as in any other place.

I played football in my younger days. One of the cliches I heard was letting the game slow down for me. Another way to put it was letting the game come to me I would often react to all the franatic activity on around me. I had to remember the patterns to run, or the blocking schemes, or adjust quickly to a sudden change in strategy. As I gained more experience, the game slowed down in my mind and I was able to perform my assignments efficiently.

I remember early when I went out in public how apprehensive and hurried I was. I wouldn't look anyone in the eye. I would speak in barely audible tones. Nowadays, I browse casually through stores. I have dined in restaurants, shopped and attended church while dressed. The gait is relaxed and confident. I look folks in the eye now. Some have smiled back at me.

I said in the earlier post that it wasn't a surreal moment for me and I still don't beleive that it was. Possibly what happened in that noisy lobby was the comfirmation of the contentment I feel inside. It's a wonderful feeling indeed.

Genevieve

Reading, Writing, and Films

I have been busy reading articles, writing and reading, attending movies, and other things. I am reading articles in which I will comment and post in the near future. I'm putting the finishing touches on my speaking engagement on June 23rd.

I am writing an article for an online magazine I write for. It will be posted in July so I'll let you know when it comes out. I am reading Jennifer Boylan 's book She's Not There. It's the story of her transition from male to female. It's a good read and I found some of her experiences related to me personally.

The NewFest Film Festival here in New York is in full swing. I saw a documentary last Friday called Gramercy Stories. It takes a look at a residence in Gramercy Park that provides a safe home for gay and transgender teenagers. A fine film. Tomorrow, I'm viewing a film about transmen. I'll give a report on it tomorrow or the next day.

Genevieve

GENEVIEVE'S GEMS

Whichever road I choose to tred, life will be altered if not changed. I must trek the trail that must travel.

Contentment With Ourselves

Last night I attended the annual Trasgeder Health Fair here in New York City. It was very successful with near 40 organizations participating and 375 people visiting.

Later on, I was sitting on a bench in the lobby. The area was filling up as people were waiting for meeting places to become available. While I sat there, I observed the many expressions of gender in my midst. Genderqueer, butch, crossdressers, transwomen and transmen. I was so comfortable in this setting. There was not an ounce of tension or distress in my being. I wouldn't call it surreal but it revealed what I actually felt inside. It's more like this each day.

When I came out as transgender four years ago, I needed to get used to living and being around my new family. There was apprehension, struggles, and missteps. There was also the belief that I was among people who comfortable with who they are. This made the greatest impression upon me. I remember the warm August day in 2006 when the overwhelming feeling of contentment in my own skin flowed through me. It was the same feeling I experienced last night.

One of my joys is to see people be comfortable with who they are. Society does its best to brow beat s into submission. We have the right to be ourselves. This is what I share with others.

Genevieve

Buzzwords and Gobblty Gook, Part 3

Of all the things that galls me, it is when people use the bible to justify their bigotry and prejudice. It was used to justify slavery, oppressing women, Native Americans and other groups. Transgener and GLB people are the lastest group. I'm a transgender person and my enemies call me a pervert. They call gay and lesbian people pedophiles. All I hear is that the bible is against homosexuality and transgenderism. Telling us that God hates us is the height of bigotry, in my opinion.

I am a Christian and transgender person whom God loves. God love gays, lesbians, bisexuals, and transgender persons unconditionally. Anybody who tells you different is a liar. If you ask our opponents about where it says that God hates us, they'll probably spiel some testosterone-fueled rhetoric about us being an abomination. Wel, they are an abomination in God's sight who defame his word and his name.

God made us the way we are. We don't have to be ashamed of the way he created us. The day I came out as a crossdressser and transgender person was the day I was liberated and completed. I have never been happier in my life!

The past three posts are a departure from what I normally write. I just can't stand around and listen to bigots degrade us. I just hop that I educated a few people. I jst love the TGLB community so much. It took me nearly 57 years to find the family I never knew I had. I will be always grateful that I did.

Buzzwords and Gobblty Gook, Part2

Yesterday, I mentioned a couple of buzzwords used by or adversaries to justify discrimination against TLGB people.

Procreation is another item used against us. Same-sex marriage is denied to gay and lesbian couples because in the eyes of the adversaries, they cannot reproduce. Well, there are millions of heterosexual couples who for various reasons cannot procreate either of which my spouse is one. To me this argument doesn't hold water. Transgender people are denied the right to marry in some instances. Recently in Tennessee the marriage of a trans couple was nullified.

If the opposition was so interested in procreation, let them explain all the runaways and children in foster care and orphanages. There are states where gay and lesbian couples cannot adopt. It's said that a child needs a mother and a father. From the experience of having adopted a child, children want a place where they are loved and accepted. Their parents can be transgender, gay, lesbian, or bisexual.

As I see it, maintaining the status quo is more important to the opponents and the well being of people. How many TGLB people have been killed or committed suicide because of the desire to maintain an 'ideal' which most people cannot possibly fit? Just thinking about it makes me sad and angry.

Genevieve

................to be continued

Buzzwords and Gobblty Gook

I have been following the many events regarding marriage equlity and protections for transgender people. I have looked at both sides of the issues. The excuses given for denying people their rights are pretty lame ones at that.

My question is why is it so important to our foes that we all be straight? I'm perfectly happy as a transgender person. I have long made it a point not to be defined by anyone else.

Our foes have enacted the Defense of Marriage Act because they believe that they are saving it from oblivion. Well, marriage has survived many social upheavals. If they are so interested in 'saving' marriage why not work with the couples struggling with their marriages? Recently, I celebrated my 29th anniversary. My spouse and I love each other, respect one another, and enjoy being with each other. She knows that I am transgender and it has made us even closer.

Other buzz words are 'traditional marriage' and 'traditional values'. What's traditional in one culture may be something totally different in another culture. I am for traditional marriage but I am also for equality. Denying gay and lesbian couples the right to marry is wrong, plain and simple.

It has come to the point where I'm tired of people trying to tell me how I should live. The gender binary system is another control mechanism that has been the bane of transgender people. I will touch upon this in a future post because I have much to say about it.

to be continued...........

Genevieve

GENEVIEVE'S GEMS

I didn't choose to be transgender, but I did choose to embrace that I am transgender.

New Discoveries

I just finished reading Vanessa Sheridan's book "Crossing Over" for the second time. It's amazing what I missed from the first time that I read the book. While I know the struggle for transgender equality is difficult, I see now how entrenched many of our institutions  are and so amandantly opposed to us securing our rights. It opens up a can of worms that, quite frankly, needs to be opened up.

The book confirms some of my own personal feelings and transformations when I discovered my transgender identity. We were created exactly as God planned it. What has been done to transgender people over the centuries is heinous and blasphemous. Sadly, the institutional church was behind much of the bigotry transgender suffered and still suffer.

When I accepted my transgenderism, I did not feel shame or guilt. I felt liberation and completeness. In the coming days, I will share some thoughts about what I discovered and my feelings about what I read.

Genevieve

GENEVIEVE'S GEMS

I may not have had the same experiences as you,

but I rejoice when you have attained a victory.

Desire To Be More Open

My desire to be out in public is stronger this year. It's not to draw attention to myself or fame but to educate the public about transgender people. I have gone to the laundry dressed the past few times I've done the wash. I went food shopping recently. On Thursday I will be going to a movie with a lesbian friend.

I'm saying all this because my transgender journey is taking me to the point that I desire to share more of myself. It's to educate the public and it's to encourage other transgender and gender variant folks that we are being ourselves. There's nothing wrong with us and we have nothing to be ashamed of. I have reasoned that no one will force me into the closet.

I'm not sure if or when it will happen but I have the desire to live as a woman 24/7. I have a spouse to consider. She accepts my crossdressing though, at times, she doesn't understand why I like wearing women's clothing.She has purchased clothing for me and we share skirts, blouses, tops, dresses and coats. I let her borrow my jewelry when she needs it. Guess I have the best of both worlds.

I have come to see that I do not relish conventional wisdom or the status quo like I used to. I see that people possess much more than the gender roles they are assigned. If I told my non-transgender friends about 'Gennee', they would be shocked. My goal is to become an educator. I always believed that the setting I'll be in will not be a traditional one. I look forward to the day when I can share my life as a transgender person to many people.

Gennee

Ever Changing Landscape

Today I attended a meeting of tglb vets at the community center. After the meeting I was observing the people walking or sitting down. The thought came to my mind that each person is at a different stage in their lives and in varying degrees. Like crossdressing not being a neutral activity, the transgender journey is not a stationary trek. The landscape changes all the time.

 

Flowers of The World

Lately I have read numerous posts about GLBT folks coming to terms with who they are. It encourages me to hear this because many others will be encouraged by their discovery and self-acceptance. 

It's sad how society discriminates against people who do not represent the 'right presentation' of gender. Transgender and gender variant people have long felt the wrath of a very restrictive and soul-killing binary construct. So have effeminate men and masculine women. Diversity is like a flower garden. There's so many colors, varieties, sizes, and shapes Each person adds beauty to life's tapestry. 

I wish that I could hug the people who have accepted themselves. I feel so blessed privileged to be part of a beautiful community of people who desire to live authentic lives.  To my brothers and sisters, I encourage you to live life on your terms and love being who you are.

GENEVIEVE'S GEMS

We were created as God wants us. We are not a mistake. We are part of his diversity.