tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-219192762024-03-13T06:31:51.522-07:00Eli's ComingA Gender JournalElihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16435069005018966208noreply@blogger.comBlogger222125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21919276.post-52823278317603042232015-04-03T19:02:00.001-07:002015-04-03T19:05:27.313-07:00...five years later.Been what, five years since I posted? Oops. Lot has happened since then! I'm coming up on 10 years of being Eli and it's making me want to write again. We shall see. Let's start with showing off my new haircut ("high fade, please") and my frankly glorious beard. Can't hardly believe I used to fret about whether it would ever grow out.Elihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16435069005018966208noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21919276.post-88781287575078144332010-02-28T18:56:00.000-08:002010-02-28T19:58:45.305-08:00using my powers for goodWell, I don't know about the tail end of 2009, but I haven't been blogging since January in large part because my life was eaten up be rehearsals; I was in a community theater musical, and it was such fun! It was Cole Porter's Kiss Me, Kate which, as you may well know, is a musical about a bunch of actors putting on a musical rendition of Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew.My partner R. convinced Elihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16435069005018966208noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21919276.post-70890285641173053542009-09-15T05:59:00.000-07:002009-09-15T06:25:08.128-07:00naming alterationsI dug out my old fencing mask and glove last night- they still fit fine, and feel comfortable and familiar. They're both neatly labeled in my 7th grade handwriting with my old 7th grade name. Why couldn't I had been more restrained and just put my last name on there? How was I to know that nearly 10 years later I'd be trying to scrub that girl's name off my mask with nail polish remover?To no Elihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16435069005018966208noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21919276.post-16468402858988290182009-09-14T18:52:00.000-07:002009-09-14T18:57:07.394-07:00strike a pose!Elihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16435069005018966208noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21919276.post-7059000576192205242009-09-11T06:04:00.000-07:002009-09-11T08:46:37.656-07:00feint, disengageI started fencing again last night, for the first time in...at least 8 years, maybe closer to 10. It was wonderful. I fenced with enormous gusto from about 7th-9th grade, and some of 10th grade, i think, but then I moved off to college and then NYC and despite a few attempts at forming a club in college, never really had a chance to fence again. I'm very excited to reinvigorate my fencing careerElihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16435069005018966208noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21919276.post-42398843851069232152009-08-25T16:52:00.000-07:002009-08-25T18:27:01.088-07:00hard timesI can be pretty glib about my transition. In some ways the seriousness with which I take it has traced a parabolic path- I distinctly remember a night out at an East Village gay bar in July 2005 (the Boiler Room on 4th & 2nd, if anyone cares. it was the night I first laid eyes on my partner R) when I ran into a young man I'd known for a brief time in college. He called out my old name with Elihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16435069005018966208noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21919276.post-28829819728131658122009-06-22T16:52:00.000-07:002009-06-22T17:18:42.626-07:00beards & necktiesIt occurred to me this afternoon that my beard functions for me in some of the same ways that my neckties used to, as a sort of masculine armor. I was talking with some transmasculine friends this weekend about our respective masculinities, and the markers of that masculinity, and how important it was to have that masculinity firmly anchored.I used to wear neckties not for the reasons I do know- Elihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16435069005018966208noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21919276.post-88866394340839157262009-06-19T11:38:00.001-07:002009-06-19T13:10:27.736-07:00unanswered questionsYesterday I found myself at a loss to answer the question "Why did you move to New York?"The answer is actually rather straightforward; I moved to NYC in 2005 because I had just graduated from college and decided that I wanted to pursue transition of some sort, and live as male. I knew moving to a new city would enable me to introduce myself whoever I chose, and what better city than The City, Elihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16435069005018966208noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21919276.post-47347815596504143792009-06-02T18:13:00.001-07:002009-06-02T18:30:23.392-07:00End hiatusGosh, it's been a while since I've posted. More than two months, in fact! My 3rd year of being on T slipped by during that time, without much notice. Really, year three doesn't feel much different than year two...which I suspect is the crux of these writing gaps. My transition (and the entirety of my gender, really) isn't as interesting to me as it used to be. I foretold this, and I'm not Elihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16435069005018966208noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21919276.post-45130265401068113102009-03-26T17:09:00.000-07:002009-03-26T13:56:48.555-07:00Emerging from winterTime for another picture update, perhaps? I'm a bit fuzzy, pasty and plump after the most recent New England winter, but I couldn't get a good shot of my pot belly without revealing too much! Maybe next time.I feel as though I haven't changed much in the past year, but perhaps that's just because the changes are happening much more slowly. When I look back at pictures from a year ago, I can see Elihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16435069005018966208noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21919276.post-3614178938801098402009-03-26T05:54:00.000-07:002009-03-26T07:16:23.178-07:00grrrOh man, I just had my hackles raised. I read Andrew Sullivan's blog over at the Atlantic, and while some of his conservative politics make me roll my eyes, I generally appreciate his insights; it can be quite refreshing to see the world through a perspective not aligned with one's own. Anyway, there's been a rather casual thread of posts in the past few days (see here and here) about trans Elihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16435069005018966208noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21919276.post-33933506453025650122009-03-04T17:14:00.000-08:002009-03-04T18:27:52.348-08:00transphobia?What does it mean when something's transphobic? Like homophobic (the undoubted inspirational term), it means to words or actions or behaviors that are anti-trans- I generally take it to mean something that is unfair, hurtful, offensive or meanspirited, and negatively affects trans people, whether directly or indirectly. Today I read an offhand comment that had been made on a friend's journal, andElihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16435069005018966208noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21919276.post-35759152977474621492009-02-05T06:41:00.000-08:002009-02-05T07:47:23.775-08:00World's Youngest Transsexual?I've seen this story on a couple of blogs this morning, about a young woman in Germany who is apparently a rising pop star and transsexual.My first thought was to be please at the (for once!) reasonably respectful and positive writing; I found both the article and the blog mention pretty good in terms of pronouns, quotes from her doctors and family, etc. What struck me, though, besides the Elihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16435069005018966208noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21919276.post-40809282520571674402009-01-28T19:39:00.000-08:002009-01-28T19:52:26.342-08:00discomforting memoriesToday I've been wearing a holter monitor, which is basically a portable EKG device that I've got to carry around like a fannypack with wires leading to electrodes that are stuck to my chest. It's not terribly inconvenient, and it's mostly a precautionary measure (I had some heart issues as a child, had a few palpitations in the fall, things are being ruled out), so it's not particularly scary or Elihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16435069005018966208noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21919276.post-21335372158543064662008-12-21T14:55:00.001-08:002008-12-21T18:02:20.857-08:00all I post these days are picturesSomeday, words will flow again. Perhaps while I'm home for the holidays. In the meantime, I leave you with a few pictures that I snapped upon divesting myself of my snow gear this afternoon. Roughly two and a quarter years post-surgery, two and a half on T.I have been told my chest hair resembles an eagle.Elihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16435069005018966208noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21919276.post-19067469292933732132008-11-26T10:01:00.000-08:002008-11-26T10:06:43.610-08:00Happy Thanksgiving!Pretty much last but certainly not least on my list of things I'm thankful for: muttonchops!Elihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16435069005018966208noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21919276.post-54723715693410441062008-11-17T16:57:00.000-08:002008-11-17T17:13:18.602-08:00rememberanceI'm glad to see that Duanna Johnson is getting some national coverage in the NY Times, and to see that the Tennessee Transgender Political Coalition received an outpouring of donations to help cover the cost of her funeral expenses. I hope that justice is served, and that some scrap of silver lining can be made of this too-common tragedy. If there is further accountability within the police Elihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16435069005018966208noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21919276.post-34972942766746589502008-11-14T07:12:00.001-08:002008-11-14T10:25:08.729-08:00Transwoman murdered, no protests planned.Thanks to Jack for saying, as usual, exactly the right thing about such a tragic situation. It is very bad that Californians decided to deny gay people the basic right of marriage. It is much worse that trans folks (especially trans women, especially women of color) are continuously disrespected, denied basic rights (including marriage, whether heterosexual or homosexual!), not to mention Elihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16435069005018966208noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21919276.post-34185459026265553632008-11-12T20:28:00.000-08:002008-11-12T19:03:50.837-08:00not coveredI never got around to blogging about this back at the time, but when I was first hired for my new job, I had to fill out a whole bunch of forms for HR, some of which pertained to the health care plan that I would be covered by. There were two options, a PPO and an HMO, with thick booklets explaining the difference between the two.I didn't know much about the difference between the two, save that Elihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16435069005018966208noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21919276.post-84360789460695589452008-11-10T08:59:00.001-08:002008-11-10T08:59:56.480-08:00alsoAnother relevant/funny dinosaur comic!Elihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16435069005018966208noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21919276.post-1495351838006261762008-11-10T05:53:00.001-08:002008-11-10T06:04:20.774-08:00good election news!A trans person was elected Mayor of Silverton, OR! I've found a few news items through Google News, (and deliberately haven't clicked on any of the Fox News clips- don't really care to spoil my morning with whatever they have to say!) and they mostly appear to be doing a good job of coverage. Stu appears to fall under the much broader gender-variant umbrella definition of transgender, and is not Elihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16435069005018966208noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21919276.post-16438158275547011422008-10-30T07:54:00.000-07:002008-10-30T09:17:52.981-07:00ought I mention...?So, my sister is a writer, and has written several beautiful essays about my transition and how it's impacted our family, etc. We talk frequently about co-authoring a book. She has had a piece accepted by the NY Times which will be published soon, and I couldn't be more proud of her.I'm also faced with something of a quandary. I haven't mentioned to anyone at my new job (or in my new town) Elihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16435069005018966208noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21919276.post-12669476794038589282008-10-30T06:05:00.000-07:002008-10-30T06:14:40.381-07:00beard follow up:Who knew I had so much in common with T-Rex? Elihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16435069005018966208noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21919276.post-1891377379602176352008-10-27T17:43:00.000-07:002008-10-27T18:20:43.517-07:00beard!My beard continues to fill in, which is quite reassuring now that I live up in the cold hinterlands of New England. Snow is forecast for the next few days (before Halloween! What have I gotten myself into??) and while I was just missing my muttonchops the other day, and thinking about going back to a sideburns/goatee/'chops situation, I may hunker down and wait til spring before I mess around Elihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16435069005018966208noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21919276.post-62552741736320055872008-10-15T10:46:00.000-07:002008-10-15T11:10:58.789-07:00let me get this straight.When I tried to change my name last year, I was denied by the judge because I hadn't provided "proof of a sex change" and I was going from (in his opinion!) a female name to a male name.It makes me just spitting mad to think about the prejudice I (and many others) have faced when trying to do something as simple as getting a namechange....particularly when I read that this girl has no problems Elihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16435069005018966208noreply@blogger.com3