English
Nederlands
2005-07-25
Pink Monday
I had extended my holiday with one extra day to visit an event I had had to miss time and time again. The first Monday of the carnival in Tilburg is commonly known as "Pink Monday". From all over the country gays and lesbians and transvestites and many others who don't conform to the standard hetero norm go to Tilburg to openly express their feelings or to enjoy the sight of other people expressing themselves.
For many years I heard on the TV-news that the event had taken place once again, but once again I had missed it. It was time for a change in this! So Julia and I took the train and headed for Tilburg. Of course we were not the only ones. At the railway station in Eindhoven we saw groups of young people who had the same destination as we did. And we heard remarks like: "Look there are more 'pink' people on their way."
Yes, when I visit an event like this, there is little hope that people will think I am a woman. They expect to see transvestites and then they soon 'read' me. As I wrote recently that is not very nice. But there was no option than to endure this for the good course of being there.
There was a very nice atmosphere in Tilburg. People were heading for the carnival ground in hoards, so we didn't have to ask for directions, we just went with the flow...
And then... Oops, I guess I had forgotten I don't like a carnival at all. There really wasn't any attraction I wanted to go in. And some things are so scary I felt sick just watching them. So we were just walking around and having a look. There were some very beautiful show transvestites who were continuously being photographed by the audience.
We also went for a sandwich in café "Meesters". Well that was a sandwich indeed; it was a complete meal; delicious!
But all in all the Pink Monday was a bit of a disappointment to me. The main attraction is the outrageous transvestism and that is not really my cup of tea. And then it stopped raining and it started poring, so Julia and I quickly went back to Eindhoven. At least I can now say that I have visited Pink Monday once in my life...
For many years I heard on the TV-news that the event had taken place once again, but once again I had missed it. It was time for a change in this! So Julia and I took the train and headed for Tilburg. Of course we were not the only ones. At the railway station in Eindhoven we saw groups of young people who had the same destination as we did. And we heard remarks like: "Look there are more 'pink' people on their way."
Yes, when I visit an event like this, there is little hope that people will think I am a woman. They expect to see transvestites and then they soon 'read' me. As I wrote recently that is not very nice. But there was no option than to endure this for the good course of being there.
There was a very nice atmosphere in Tilburg. People were heading for the carnival ground in hoards, so we didn't have to ask for directions, we just went with the flow...
And then... Oops, I guess I had forgotten I don't like a carnival at all. There really wasn't any attraction I wanted to go in. And some things are so scary I felt sick just watching them. So we were just walking around and having a look. There were some very beautiful show transvestites who were continuously being photographed by the audience.
We also went for a sandwich in café "Meesters". Well that was a sandwich indeed; it was a complete meal; delicious!
But all in all the Pink Monday was a bit of a disappointment to me. The main attraction is the outrageous transvestism and that is not really my cup of tea. And then it stopped raining and it started poring, so Julia and I quickly went back to Eindhoven. At least I can now say that I have visited Pink Monday once in my life...
2005-07-24
Eighteenth Column
Tonight my eighteenth column was broadcast in Gendertalk #520.
You can find the complete program in the Gendertalk archive.
Or you can find just my column at:
http://eveliensnel.nl/audio/NATUR12.mp3
A full transcript of the text is below:
Skinny Dipping
If you start living full-time in the opposite gender role, you go around every day trying to look like a girl although you have a male body. The more clothing you wear the easier that is. But you will run into problems with activities where you don't wear so much clothing, such as swimming.
In the three years since my transition I had only swum one time. That was in a swimming pool in Italy. Julia so much wanted to go for a swim, I couldn't refuse that. But I didn't feel ready for it. I hadn't started with my hormone treatment yet, so my body was still completely male, but I had to go dressed as a girl. With falsies in my bikini top and with an unnatural bulging in my panty. I didn't feel really at ease there, but afterwards it was a good feeling to know I had conquered my fear and done Julia a favor.
But it gets even more complicated. In the past Julia and I always went to naturist beaches. Yes, that's right: Skinny dipping! We always loved the atmosphere at naturist beaches: people are very friendly and they care about the environment. You won't find empty cans and bottles or cigarette buds on a naturist beach. These people clean up their mess when they leave.
Of course on a naturist beach transvestism is impossible. Without any clothes you cannot pretend to be anything but yourself. So I hadn't been there since my transition. It was impossible for me to go anywhere if I would have to look like a guy. But things have changed. Now that I am on hormones, my body is changing. I don't look like a man anymore, I look like a... SheMale!
Of course a SheMale is a rather unusual kind of person, but I had decided I wanted to go to the naturist beach again as soon as I didn't look like a man any more. So last week I took the big step and went to the beach for the first time in three years. I have to admit I was a bit scared to do that. But I am not sorry I did. It is so relaxing to let go of all pretending and make-believe. I was just me, nothing more, nothing less!
Of course people have looked at me. There is nothing wrong with that! Everybody looks at everybody else. Some people will have thought: "Hey, HE has breasts!" and others thought: "Hey SHE has a penis!" And they were right! So what!
When I got the idea to do my column about this subject I hesitated at first. In one of my previous columns I also touched another taboo and some people were confused by that. And I know nudity is much more taboo in the USA than it is in the Netherlands. So I did a little research on the internet to find out whether naturism would be acceptable in my column. The first hit I got on Google was a page with a picture of a nude couple on the beach at Cape Codd, so that was a good sign. And soon I found the pages of "The Naturist Society" at http://www.naturistsociety.com/.
They have a slogan that exactly expresses my feelings about my outing to the beach:
"Body Acceptance is the Idea, Nude Recreation is the Way"
You can find the complete program in the Gendertalk archive.
Or you can find just my column at:
http://eveliensnel.nl/audio/NATUR12.mp3
A full transcript of the text is below:
If you start living full-time in the opposite gender role, you go around every day trying to look like a girl although you have a male body. The more clothing you wear the easier that is. But you will run into problems with activities where you don't wear so much clothing, such as swimming.
In the three years since my transition I had only swum one time. That was in a swimming pool in Italy. Julia so much wanted to go for a swim, I couldn't refuse that. But I didn't feel ready for it. I hadn't started with my hormone treatment yet, so my body was still completely male, but I had to go dressed as a girl. With falsies in my bikini top and with an unnatural bulging in my panty. I didn't feel really at ease there, but afterwards it was a good feeling to know I had conquered my fear and done Julia a favor.
But it gets even more complicated. In the past Julia and I always went to naturist beaches. Yes, that's right: Skinny dipping! We always loved the atmosphere at naturist beaches: people are very friendly and they care about the environment. You won't find empty cans and bottles or cigarette buds on a naturist beach. These people clean up their mess when they leave.
Of course on a naturist beach transvestism is impossible. Without any clothes you cannot pretend to be anything but yourself. So I hadn't been there since my transition. It was impossible for me to go anywhere if I would have to look like a guy. But things have changed. Now that I am on hormones, my body is changing. I don't look like a man anymore, I look like a... SheMale!
Of course a SheMale is a rather unusual kind of person, but I had decided I wanted to go to the naturist beach again as soon as I didn't look like a man any more. So last week I took the big step and went to the beach for the first time in three years. I have to admit I was a bit scared to do that. But I am not sorry I did. It is so relaxing to let go of all pretending and make-believe. I was just me, nothing more, nothing less!
Of course people have looked at me. There is nothing wrong with that! Everybody looks at everybody else. Some people will have thought: "Hey, HE has breasts!" and others thought: "Hey SHE has a penis!" And they were right! So what!
When I got the idea to do my column about this subject I hesitated at first. In one of my previous columns I also touched another taboo and some people were confused by that. And I know nudity is much more taboo in the USA than it is in the Netherlands. So I did a little research on the internet to find out whether naturism would be acceptable in my column. The first hit I got on Google was a page with a picture of a nude couple on the beach at Cape Codd, so that was a good sign. And soon I found the pages of "The Naturist Society" at http://www.naturistsociety.com/.
They have a slogan that exactly expresses my feelings about my outing to the beach:
2005-07-14
The Secret
We felt like going out for dinner. But where to go? We wanted to go somewhere we had never been before. Fortunately Rudi (the route planner) can solve problems like this as well: Put in a disk with restaurant data, turn the knob and take your pick!
"Het Geheim" ("The Secret")? That sounded exciting, so we decided that was the place to go. We had no idea where it was, just knew it was 25 km to the North West. So Julia took the steering wheel and off we went. We had selected a route without any freeways so we were taken along many small roads we had never seen before. And we ended up in... Oisterwijk!
"You have reached your destination", Rudi announced when we had reached the center of the village. We immediately saw several restaurants there but none of them was named "Het Geheim". So we went into one of the restaurants and asked the waiter.
"The Secret?" the waiter asked: "O, you must be referring to "Het Geheim van de Smit" ("The blacksmith's secret")! Well, that restaurant doesn't exist any more. It has a new management and a new name. That is right next door..."
So we went next door, to Brasserie Vulders in Oisterwijk. That was the nicest of the three restaurants in the street anyway, because one of them was much too posh and the other one was too snack bar-like. This one was in between, just the way we like it.
I had decided I would choose fish today for a change. Normally I always go for meat. So we decided to have a Bretoneese bouillabaisse as a starter and fillet of plaice as the main course. Of course we drank a decanter of white wine with that. It was delicious, especially the bouillabaisse! I had never had such a nice fish soup in my life. It was a rich, strong broth filled with a cornucopia of fish and there were also mussels in it and other shellfish I don't know the names of. Of course there were also several kinds of shrimps and even pieces of lobster!
If you like bouillabaisse and you happen to visit Oisterwijk, you should go and try this. But remember: Don't tell, this is our little secret!
"Het Geheim" ("The Secret")? That sounded exciting, so we decided that was the place to go. We had no idea where it was, just knew it was 25 km to the North West. So Julia took the steering wheel and off we went. We had selected a route without any freeways so we were taken along many small roads we had never seen before. And we ended up in... Oisterwijk!
"You have reached your destination", Rudi announced when we had reached the center of the village. We immediately saw several restaurants there but none of them was named "Het Geheim". So we went into one of the restaurants and asked the waiter.
"The Secret?" the waiter asked: "O, you must be referring to "Het Geheim van de Smit" ("The blacksmith's secret")! Well, that restaurant doesn't exist any more. It has a new management and a new name. That is right next door..."
So we went next door, to Brasserie Vulders in Oisterwijk. That was the nicest of the three restaurants in the street anyway, because one of them was much too posh and the other one was too snack bar-like. This one was in between, just the way we like it.
I had decided I would choose fish today for a change. Normally I always go for meat. So we decided to have a Bretoneese bouillabaisse as a starter and fillet of plaice as the main course. Of course we drank a decanter of white wine with that. It was delicious, especially the bouillabaisse! I had never had such a nice fish soup in my life. It was a rich, strong broth filled with a cornucopia of fish and there were also mussels in it and other shellfish I don't know the names of. Of course there were also several kinds of shrimps and even pieces of lobster!
If you like bouillabaisse and you happen to visit Oisterwijk, you should go and try this. But remember: Don't tell, this is our little secret!
2005-07-12
To the VU
Today I went to the gender clinic at the VU in Amsterdam for the usual tests they do every three months. I thought this would be a dull routine matter, but it turned out differently.
Our conversation with the psychologist was quite heavy. Hormones are now bubbling through my body and that has the effect of creating a kind of 'second puberty'. I want to explore the world and enjoy new, exciting experiences. But in contrast with a normal puberty I have to take into account the many things in life I don't want to loose like my marriage and my job. These desires are difficult to combine.
We met a new doctor this time. He is from Austria and he is the successor of Prof. Goore. He thought I was wearing falsies, but no, these were my real breasts; I do have a real A cup by now. He congratulated me with that because is it a very good result after only 7 months of hormone use, especially at my age.
It seemed like he was the first one who had really looked at the test results from my previous visits to the hospital. It turns out I have osteoporosis. That could be seen of the bone scan that was done last year, but so far nobody had taken the trouble to tell me about that. [By now I know that the bone scan is just an X-ray picture, it is not an MRI at all.]
He also told me the results of my last blood tests must have been in error. According to the test results my estrogen level would be "996", which is about 10x higher than that of a fertile woman, so that cannot be true. They must have made a mistake at the laboratory.
Fortunately my testosterone level is very good. It has plummeted from "21", which is even quite high for a man to less than "1".
And the Gender team co-ordinator told us the government is cutting back on the reimbursements transsexuals get for their operations. "So please make sure you have 3000 Euro ($4000) at hand for paying the breast augmentation surgery", he said. In the past the breast enhancement was refunded by the insurance companies but suddenly they refuse to pay up. And if people complain, they hypocritically point to the government and say they are not allowed to pay for that.
Two transsexuals are now going to court for fighting this injustice. And they find lawyers from the Gender team at their sides. Fortunately (?) it will take a long time before it is my turn, so maybe this will have been settled by then.
Our conversation with the psychologist was quite heavy. Hormones are now bubbling through my body and that has the effect of creating a kind of 'second puberty'. I want to explore the world and enjoy new, exciting experiences. But in contrast with a normal puberty I have to take into account the many things in life I don't want to loose like my marriage and my job. These desires are difficult to combine.
We met a new doctor this time. He is from Austria and he is the successor of Prof. Goore. He thought I was wearing falsies, but no, these were my real breasts; I do have a real A cup by now. He congratulated me with that because is it a very good result after only 7 months of hormone use, especially at my age.
It seemed like he was the first one who had really looked at the test results from my previous visits to the hospital. It turns out I have osteoporosis. That could be seen of the bone scan that was done last year, but so far nobody had taken the trouble to tell me about that. [By now I know that the bone scan is just an X-ray picture, it is not an MRI at all.]
He also told me the results of my last blood tests must have been in error. According to the test results my estrogen level would be "996", which is about 10x higher than that of a fertile woman, so that cannot be true. They must have made a mistake at the laboratory.
Fortunately my testosterone level is very good. It has plummeted from "21", which is even quite high for a man to less than "1".
And the Gender team co-ordinator told us the government is cutting back on the reimbursements transsexuals get for their operations. "So please make sure you have 3000 Euro ($4000) at hand for paying the breast augmentation surgery", he said. In the past the breast enhancement was refunded by the insurance companies but suddenly they refuse to pay up. And if people complain, they hypocritically point to the government and say they are not allowed to pay for that.
Two transsexuals are now going to court for fighting this injustice. And they find lawyers from the Gender team at their sides. Fortunately (?) it will take a long time before it is my turn, so maybe this will have been settled by then.
2005-07-10
Seventeenth Column
Tonight my seventeenth column was broadcast in Gendertalk #518.
You can find the complete program in the Gendertalk archive.
Or you can find just my column at:
http://eveliensnel.nl/audio/OUT11.mp3
A full transcript of the text is below:
Out of Work
It is three years ago that I transitioned from working as a man to working as a woman. And now I am out of work. This didn't go like in Virginia Stephenson's case. She was simply told: "We don't want you here as a woman." That would have been against the company Code of Conduct. Article 4.3 explicitly states: "Every employee has equal opportunities and will be treated equally, regardless of personal background, race, gender, nationality, age, sexual orientation or religion."
And article 1 of the Dutch constitution simple says: "Discrimination is prohibited."
So if they would have fired me because I am a transsexual, I could easily have sued them.
No, it was all done in small steps, in a much more subtle way. Since my transition, I have never had a positive performance review. There was always a lot of criticism about my performance on the job. The criticism ranged from brutal lies and half truths to vague accusations and subjective impressions.
Then I just happened to meet the criteria for lay-off in a reorganization. I was transferred to another company, but remained doing the same work, only now as a temp instead of a normal employee.
And the bad performance reviews continued. My former employer, who was now my customer was never satisfied. They tried to end my contract because my part in the project had allegedly been completed. That was another lie and I succeeded in continuing the contract two times because the work wasn't finished.
Now they have made a third attempt to kick me out and they have succeeded. My work still has not been finished, I have had to transfer it to a new colleague. Now that I am a temp it is really quite simple to get rid of me: They just needed to say to my new employer that they are not interested in hiring me any longer.
So my work has ended. It has been stolen away from me. I have cried a lot lately. It is all just so unfair! And there is very little I can do about it. It is very clear that the beautiful 'company Code of Conduct' is a paper tiger. To give one other example: Amongst 1000 employees there is not one single homosexual working for my former employer! Do you believe that? Neither do I. Clearly the homosexuals in the company keep quiet about their orientation, because they fear to be discriminated.
I am out of work now, but I am not out of a job yet. My new employer will have to come up with a new assignment for me. It will be a litmus test of their company Code of Conduct to watch closely how they are going to handle this.
You can find the complete program in the Gendertalk archive.
Or you can find just my column at:
http://eveliensnel.nl/audio/OUT11.mp3
A full transcript of the text is below:
It is three years ago that I transitioned from working as a man to working as a woman. And now I am out of work. This didn't go like in Virginia Stephenson's case. She was simply told: "We don't want you here as a woman." That would have been against the company Code of Conduct. Article 4.3 explicitly states: "Every employee has equal opportunities and will be treated equally, regardless of personal background, race, gender, nationality, age, sexual orientation or religion."
And article 1 of the Dutch constitution simple says: "Discrimination is prohibited."
So if they would have fired me because I am a transsexual, I could easily have sued them.
No, it was all done in small steps, in a much more subtle way. Since my transition, I have never had a positive performance review. There was always a lot of criticism about my performance on the job. The criticism ranged from brutal lies and half truths to vague accusations and subjective impressions.
Then I just happened to meet the criteria for lay-off in a reorganization. I was transferred to another company, but remained doing the same work, only now as a temp instead of a normal employee.
And the bad performance reviews continued. My former employer, who was now my customer was never satisfied. They tried to end my contract because my part in the project had allegedly been completed. That was another lie and I succeeded in continuing the contract two times because the work wasn't finished.
Now they have made a third attempt to kick me out and they have succeeded. My work still has not been finished, I have had to transfer it to a new colleague. Now that I am a temp it is really quite simple to get rid of me: They just needed to say to my new employer that they are not interested in hiring me any longer.
So my work has ended. It has been stolen away from me. I have cried a lot lately. It is all just so unfair! And there is very little I can do about it. It is very clear that the beautiful 'company Code of Conduct' is a paper tiger. To give one other example: Amongst 1000 employees there is not one single homosexual working for my former employer! Do you believe that? Neither do I. Clearly the homosexuals in the company keep quiet about their orientation, because they fear to be discriminated.
I am out of work now, but I am not out of a job yet. My new employer will have to come up with a new assignment for me. It will be a litmus test of their company Code of Conduct to watch closely how they are going to handle this.
2005-07-09
Eindhoven Ballooning
On Saturday we headed for Lake Karpendonk for "Eindhoven Ballooning". This event featured putting up and sailing more than two dozen hot air balloons. A beautiful show that is best illustrated with a lot of pictures:
"And what about you? Did you sail a balloon yourself, Evelien?"
Err... No. Not yet. But I would love to do that one day. And there were vacant places available. But I wasn't prepared. I wasn't properly dressed for it. I was afraid I would have to pee while up in the air. And I didn't bring 160 Euros ($200) to pay for the trip.
"Chicken!!"
OK, OK, next year! Next year I will sail a balloon, I promise...
 |  | ||||
| First the balloon is completely empty and it is lying on the grass as a dull sheet of canvas. It has to be filled with air, so the ballooners lift the bottom end of the canvas to let in the first air. | The balloon is first filled with cool air the get into the right shape. That takes a lot of time, because it takes a lot of air to fill such a balloon! | ||||
 |  | ||||
| The balloon slowly gets bigger... | ...and bigger... | ||||
 |  |  | |||
| ...until is it in the right shape. | Then the burner is switched on, to warm the air inside. Now it is starting to lift itself off the ground... | ...and then the balloon sailors have to go aboard quickly, because it is taking off! | |||
| Not all balloons are the same shape. Some of them are true works of art! | |||||
 |  |  | |||
| This is the 'frog-balloon', PH-ROC. It takes a lot of time to put up this balloon, because the air has to fill all the compartments of the balloon, including the four frog legs... | And this is the 'orange-balloon' from Belgium. It has a very beautiful color and it has a special shape because it has a flat surface on one side. | Not a special shape, but a remarkable painting on this 'guy in sunglasses'. | |||
| After a successful flight the balloons returned (by car) to Lake Karpendonk for the closing event: the 'night glow'. | |||||
 | |||||
| The burners of several balloons were switched on and off to the rhythm of music. Seen against the dark evening sky, this looks like a gigantic light organ! | |||||
"And what about you? Did you sail a balloon yourself, Evelien?"
Err... No. Not yet. But I would love to do that one day. And there were vacant places available. But I wasn't prepared. I wasn't properly dressed for it. I was afraid I would have to pee while up in the air. And I didn't bring 160 Euros ($200) to pay for the trip.
"Chicken!!"
OK, OK, next year! Next year I will sail a balloon, I promise...
2005-07-05
Vacation
Since there is no work for me anyway, I can now take all the vacation I want, so I took three weeks off to begin with. When I was still working in my project, our project leader got red spots all over his face if I wanted to take an afternoon off. And now I can suddenly be missed.
Isn't that odd?
Well, I think I must stop worrying about that. Don't think about it any more. Hopefully a new assignment is ahead of me. Somewhere where my contribution is valued again. That would be for the first time in three years I get some recognition for my work!
But now I am going on about work again!
Relax, Evelien, relax!
Isn't that odd?
Well, I think I must stop worrying about that. Don't think about it any more. Hopefully a new assignment is ahead of me. Somewhere where my contribution is valued again. That would be for the first time in three years I get some recognition for my work!
But now I am going on about work again!
Relax, Evelien, relax!
2005-07-03
Cycling with the Girls
On Sunday afternoon Julia and I went for a bicycle trip with two other girls. We went quite a bit further than Julia and I are used to do, but it was well worth it. Our friend E. had told us she knew a "very nice spot".
Of course we were curious to go and see E's spot. We rode through vast moorlands, where there was nothing but nature in sight (well, with the exception of some GSM-antennas on the horizon). Really a breathtaking scenery with the added comfort of being able to send and receive SMS-messages
...
The nice spot turned out to be a beautiful fen. And now it turned out that E. had planned to go for a swim there. She was already wearing her bathing suit! O dear, we weren't prepared for that and we hadn't brought our bathing suits, nor a towel. So we would have to go skinny dipping... I feel a bit embarrassed about doing that because I haven't had my SRS (sex change operation) yet. Below my skirt I don't really look like a girl yet
...
Fortunately we didn't go swimming after all, because we didn't know whether it was allowed and because there were too many creepy water plants growing near the shore. I am not sure whether I would have conquered my fear to go nude if the other girls would all have gone into the water.
We had a wonderful day. We rode our bicycles for 30 miles, which was a new personal record for Julia and me
!
Of course we were curious to go and see E's spot. We rode through vast moorlands, where there was nothing but nature in sight (well, with the exception of some GSM-antennas on the horizon). Really a breathtaking scenery with the added comfort of being able to send and receive SMS-messages
...The nice spot turned out to be a beautiful fen. And now it turned out that E. had planned to go for a swim there. She was already wearing her bathing suit! O dear, we weren't prepared for that and we hadn't brought our bathing suits, nor a towel. So we would have to go skinny dipping... I feel a bit embarrassed about doing that because I haven't had my SRS (sex change operation) yet. Below my skirt I don't really look like a girl yet
...Fortunately we didn't go swimming after all, because we didn't know whether it was allowed and because there were too many creepy water plants growing near the shore. I am not sure whether I would have conquered my fear to go nude if the other girls would all have gone into the water.
We had a wonderful day. We rode our bicycles for 30 miles, which was a new personal record for Julia and me
!2005-07-02
Cabaret Champagne
This month we took two close friends with us to the T&T-evening. They were very curious to meet transvestites. And they have learned a lot this evening. They had a completely wrong image of transvestites and about what would be going on at a T&T-evening.
First of all they thought most transvestites would probably be gay. Well, they are not. About 10% of all transvestites is gay, which is exactly the same as in our society as a whole.
And they were expecting to see a lot of show transvestism with extravagant clothing and overdone makeup. Well, you won't find that on the T&T-evenings either. Most of the girls look reasonably representative as women, although one could argue that some of the skirts are a bit too short.
Our friends had a wonderful evening and they were touched by the openness and honesty of the transvestites they met.
And I had a great time myself to. I chatted with a small group of transsexuals (we are a small minority amongst the transvestites on these evenings) exchanging experiences. One of them said she usually avoids to be with other transsexuals in public. Not because she objects to TS's of course, but because people 'read' you much more easily when you are with a group. I have the same experience. I feel quite well accepted in society, but when I'm with a group of TS's, I feel I am being stared at again, just like it used to be in the beginning. And then you always have to hope that people just stare and don't go into making nasty remarks or even become aggressive.
Later that evening I did chat with a real show-transvestite. This evening she looked normal, but she performs with a transvestism-act, "Cabaret Champagne", and on stage she is very extravagant indeed.
Previous T&T-evenings: June, May, April, March, February, January, December, November, October, September, August, July, June 2004, May 2004 and April 2004.
First of all they thought most transvestites would probably be gay. Well, they are not. About 10% of all transvestites is gay, which is exactly the same as in our society as a whole.
And they were expecting to see a lot of show transvestism with extravagant clothing and overdone makeup. Well, you won't find that on the T&T-evenings either. Most of the girls look reasonably representative as women, although one could argue that some of the skirts are a bit too short.
Our friends had a wonderful evening and they were touched by the openness and honesty of the transvestites they met.
And I had a great time myself to. I chatted with a small group of transsexuals (we are a small minority amongst the transvestites on these evenings) exchanging experiences. One of them said she usually avoids to be with other transsexuals in public. Not because she objects to TS's of course, but because people 'read' you much more easily when you are with a group. I have the same experience. I feel quite well accepted in society, but when I'm with a group of TS's, I feel I am being stared at again, just like it used to be in the beginning. And then you always have to hope that people just stare and don't go into making nasty remarks or even become aggressive.
Later that evening I did chat with a real show-transvestite. This evening she looked normal, but she performs with a transvestism-act, "Cabaret Champagne", and on stage she is very extravagant indeed.Previous T&T-evenings: June, May, April, March, February, January, December, November, October, September, August, July, June 2004, May 2004 and April 2004.
© 1985-2006 E.G. Snel
