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By Rebecca, October 12, 2008 10:51 pm

A beautifully written post over at Being T got me thinking about how my identities before/during/after transitioning all interact. The post, titled Picture Perfect Past, talks in part about how pre-transition pictures affect the author, and seems to be something of a followup to The Secret Origin of Riftgirl, a video piece which uses a lot of pre-, mid-, and post-transition photography. From Picture Perfect Past:

Being trans isn’t what I am. But it is a part of me. Just as being a writer, a candy addict, and, yes, even a woman. And a woman who happens to have a pretty unique – and fabulous – past. And I’m through selling myself short.

Since reading the post I’ve been thinking about my own life, and how transitioning around people who knew me pre-transition affects how I see myself.

Continue reading 'Astride two worlds'»

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By Rebecca, September 27, 2008 11:59 am

Sorry for the lack of posts lately, and for the gaps between posts. I’ve just felt swamped, with things related to work (someone left so we have a new hire, and my boss is yet again being somewhat unreasonable about my taking time off), my personal life (G was gone this week), my artistic life (trying to keep working hard on the mentorship piece – more on that soon), and transitioning (went to ‘deposit’ yesterday and got one viable sample, which means I need to go back because each sample is good for one attempted at insemination…was hoping to get two or three, which isn’t uncommon, but the hormones have been busy busy busy, I guess – more on that soon, too).

So yes. I have not forgotten about you, faithful readers (such that you are) and I have a couple of posts in the pipeline that I hope to get up soon.

-R

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By Rebecca, September 7, 2008 10:19 pm

As I’ve said before, I know that my relationship effects people other than myself. Likewise, I don’t think it’s a stretch to use the word ‘transition’ for what other people go through. That is, they also go through a (perhaps less literal) transition in terms of how they interact with me, think of me, etc. And I’m pretty sure I’ve thought about a lot of the ways those transitions will effect me – how my relationship with my family will change, how things at work will be different when I start using R instead of J, how teaching at the Workshop will be different (and how making the transition there will be), and so on.

What I guess I hadn’t thought a lot about was presenting a homosexual relationship to the world when I’m out with G versus presenting a heterosexual relationship. And, based on the interactions I’ve had with people lately, how I’m dressed and the angle people see me at can push me into either ‘male’ or ‘female’ in their mind.

In a heterosexual relationship, there’s no question of whether we’re ‘allowed’ to be out together, or display affection in public, or dance together; of course straight couples are allowed to do those things.

In a homosexual relationship, even in a liberal city like Chicago, there conceivably could be a question of whether two women are ‘allowed’ to be out together, or display affection in public, or dance together; it’s not a given no one will have a problem with us.

Continue reading 'Being in a (homo/hetero-sexual) relationship and male privledge'»

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By Rebecca, September 7, 2008 8:11 pm

I just had sort of a ridiculous time saying goodbye to G to leave and come home (not in a bad way, just in a very silly way). At first I thought it was because we haven’t been living in the same city for a year and I don’t want to let her out of my sight, and I think there’s an aspect of truth to that.

But then I realized we were just as ridiculous saying goodbye when we were living in the city.

Perhaps we just like having each other around. ::grin::

-R