My grandparents ran a country general store. Their only day off was Sunday and it was first taken up with Sunday morning Church Services. After, a country Sunday noon lunch which was my grandmother's most important meal of the week. We called the mid-day meal dinner and the evening meal supper. Sunday was the meal we all shared together because of the rotating store schedule (7am - to 7pm). Saturday preparations went into the Sunday dinner and it was something I always looked forward to.
Next in the afternoon was visiting, my grandfather's bothers, my grandmother's nieces or a fun family outing. My grandfather was a man of many interest and we went to museums, national parks, car/boat races, nearby historical attractions, Virginia Civil War battlefields, and we went into town for "Window Shopping".
Of particular interest was the ladies shops with their displays of shoes, dresses and hats. To this day I am not sure if this was my grandmother's Sunday special treat or my grandfather's. As I look back, never did he protest and we did linger as we walked the two block downtown. Being it was Sunday, no stores was open. This was special times, never rushed and even after visits to family and friends we often end up downtown. I loved it.
I only wish now I could ask questions... My grandparent were special and taking me in was likely the most fortunate event of my young life. I only wish I had said "I love you" more often.
HubPages: That should be enough information to give you at least a start in the bra-seeking game.
My Notes: I believe that my Soma store carries 43 different styles. I am not sure where we differ from the video. Style is different from "Band" (measured around chest) where our store sizes got from 32 to 44. The Cup sized (calculated) differs from style and we carry from "B" to "G" with a few "H" cup sizes. Stocking and find a specific style / band / cup is daunting.
The YouTube above will help with different styles, however to get the best fit please consider being measured. After being measured we always suggest several style based on your preference of under-wire or not. Another personal preference is the amount of coverage: low often is often referred to as a "demi" or "plunge" with full-coverage bras being the opposes.
Also the use plays into the choice: Nude t-shirt bra are best for form-fitting every day use. Convertible bras (straps adjust or can be removed) work best with off-the-shoulder or halter evening wear. Sports bras for exercising also great for weekend lounging, offer a more structured shape for maximum support. Front close or pull-on are another style option that many times helps with entry and exit.
Getting the first or best fit bra is a big step in a young girl becoming a woman. Likewise for us. Do not underestimate the the power of this life's development step.
Feel free to ask any questions you might have in the comments section if you would like more information.
The finding represents an increase of more than 1 percentage point from 2023’s estimate. The proportion of the population identifying as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or non-heterosexual has nearly doubled since 2020 and has jumped from 3.5% since 2012, when it was first measured by Gallup, an analytics and advisory company based in Washington, DC.
Jaymes Black, CEO of The Trevor Project, a suicide prevention and crisis intervention organization for LGBTQ+ youth, via email.
“If there is one thing that people should take away from these new findings, it is this: LGBTQ+ people have always been here, and we will continue to be here, no matter what laws or policies attempt to erase us,”
The boost has a lot to do with young people, who have been much more likely than older generations to identify as something other than heterosexual, Gallup said.
“More than one in five Gen Z adults — those born between 1997 and 2006, who were between the ages of 18 and 27 in 2024 — identify as LGBTQ+,” according to Gallup’s report. “Each older generation of adults, from millennials to the Silent Generation, has successively lower rates of identification, down to 1.8% among the oldest Americans, those born before 1946.”
Read more ...
There are currently 390 bills targeting LGBTQ+ rights in the United States.
“Regardless of a person’s politics, I hope this poll helps lawmakers and leaders across the U.S. see LGBTQ+ people for who we are: people who exist and belong in every community, in every corner of this country,” Black said. “We just want to be treated fairly, with dignity and respect, like anyone else.”
CNN — Hunter Schafer has shared that the gender marker on her passport has been changed to list her as male.
The “Euphoria” actress posted a video on social media in which she explained that she had to get a new passport after her original was stolen while she was filming in Spain last year.
“Now, to specify, my gender markers were first changed in my teens, when I first got my driver’s license and then passports following all have been female since then,” the 26-year-old said. “Hasn’t really been a problem.”
But now, because of an executive order from the new presidential administration, her new passport has an “M” for male.
The “Cuckoo” star said she was “not making this post to fear-monger, or to create drama, or receive consolation, I don’t need it.”
“But I do think it’s worth posting to sort of note the reality of the situation and that it’s happening,” she continued. “I was shocked. I just didn’t think it was actually going to happen.”
Schafer added that she wants “to acknowledge my privilege, not only as a celebrity transwoman who is white,” and said she believes the fact she never changed her birth certificate may have contributed to the recent change.
“I don’t know exactly what changed as far as the processing goes, but this is the first time this has happened to me since I changed my gender marker,” Schafer said. “We’re coming up on a decade now, or something. And I do believe it is a direct result of the administration our country is currently operating under. And I guess I’m just sort of scared of the way this stuff slowly gets implemented.”
She also had some strong words for the administration.
“I also want to say, I don’t give a f**k that they put an ‘M’ on my passport,” she said. “It doesn’t change really anything about me or my transness, however it does make life a little harder.”
Schafer said she will be testing out how difficult it will be as she soon has to travel outside of the country for work with her new passport for the first time.
“I’m pretty sure it’s going to come along with having to out myself to border patrol agents… much more often than I would like to or is really necessary,” she said, adding that she’s also thinking about other trans people who this might be happening to.
Schafer not the only trans star speaking out.
While recently promoting her new series “Clean Slate” Laverne Cox discussed the importance of remaining visible as a trans performer, and telling trans stories as her community is “experiencing the most intense backlash against trans visibility that I’ve seen in my lifetime.”
“Executive orders limiting our rights, 26 states banned gender affirming care for young people, banning us from the military, from bathrooms… there’s this whole anti-trans thing, and we’re less than 1% of the population,” Cox said. “Someone in my comment section said, ‘They’re worried about the wrong 1%.’”
Connor has loved fashion since he was a teen so he’s always dressed in an “out there” style.
Today, we have more and more people who are going against the “pink is for girls, blue is for boys” mindset, and who are trying to experiment with their looks. Among them is Connor Keaney, a 26-year-old from Kings Norton, UK, who doesn’t conform to gendered fashion and dons dresses and skirts. Connor’s bold style is inspiring and shows that our understanding of clothes might be somewhat obsolete.
We at Bright Side admire Connor and hope his story can help and empower other people, especially those who are struggling with their identity and insecurities.
When the likes of Harry Styles started to wear skirts and dresses, Connor felt it was a sign. The same day, he went and got a skirt and put it on and he felt amazing. “I just knew it was for me,” Connor says. “I felt confident and beautiful and didn’t care if people thought it wasn’t for me!” Connor has been wearing all kinds of clothes for 2 years now.
Connor always wanted to take a photo near a “proud bab” graffiti in Birmingham city center, but couldn’t find the right outfit. He tried on some “manly” looks, but never felt cool or comfortable enough. He searched high and low until he came across a black skirt in a thrift store. “I have never felt so confident, beautiful, sassy, comfy, and cool, and I will never look back!” he says.
He believes it’s about time we get rid of gender labels, especially in regards to something as simple as clothing.
Connor’s answer is simple and beautiful: go with your own style. “Don’t look at the internet and Instagram, and don’t wish to be like them all. Be yourself, believe me, you will get much further in life and be loved a lot more. If you want to wear a ball gown to the supermarket, then you do you, boo!”
What clothes have you always wanted to try but haven’t yet?
The cover of the Hoey committee report released Dec. 15, 1950, concluding that homosexuals were unsuitable for employment in the federal government
My Note: Since 2023 the situation has become more dire with the election of Trump and comrades. Take solace; time is never kind to dictators / strongmen and historically the hate implodes. Knowing that history is on our side helps. The last paragraph adds suggestions. Be brave! Be Proud!
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In the early 1950s, the Eisenhower administration fired or barred thousands of gay, lesbian, and transgender people from federal government jobs. It was the Cold War era when fear of communists, called “The Red Scare,” overtook America. [Today it is the DEI hires and concept that is destroying the country]].
A questionable connection between communists and “homosexuals” arose from the following “reasoning.” Communists would threaten to out “homosexuals,” blackmailing them into giving state secrets to communist governments. Therefore, “homosexuals” posed a national security risk. This was called “The Lavender Scare.”
To discredit LGBTQ+ people and to justify persecuting them, they were called “perverts” and “sexual deviants.” They were portrayed as sexual predators who wanted to corrupt young men and boys. Once people were outed, their job prospects dried up. This senseless discrimination ruined lives. And took lives. This hysteria occurred despite no proof that a queer person ever cooperated with a foreign government.
Seventy years later, America is again in the grip of a Lavender Scare. Republican-majority states are copy-and-pasting anti-LGBTQ+ legislation from one statehouse to the next with frightening speed and ruthlessness. Legislation like “Don’t Say Gay” bills, halting gender-affirming care for transgender youth, and banning LGBTQ+-themed books seek to silence, erase, or drive out queer people. Requiring a trusted teacher to out a gay or transgender student puts the teacher in an impossible moral position and potentially puts the student in danger.
Also, like during the 1950s’ Lavender Scare, queer people (and their allies) are labeled with a dangerous slur. The word used now is “groomer.” This inaccurate characterization implies, as before, that LGBTQ+ people want to “recruit” children into their “lifestyle.”
In a dramatic confrontation, Joseph Welch, special counsel for the U.S. Army, lashes out at Senator Joseph McCarthy during hearings on whether communism has infiltrated the U.S. armed forces. Welch’s verbal assault—including the enduring question "Have you no sense of decency?"—marked the end of McCarthy’s power during the anticommunist hysteria of the Red Scare in America.
This word and this attitude are dangerous because we’ve seen time and again that words influence behavior. Note the recent increase in hate crimes against Asian Americans, Latinos, and Jews following the use of racist language. We’ve also seen a spike in death threats to politicians and federal employees.
When people are told to fear them, “the others” become easy targets. We are told “the others” are dangerous; we have a right to defend ourselves from “them.” Slurs are rooted in misinformation and fear. Hurtful words become hateful attitudes. Hateful attitudes become violent acts.
The truth is LGBTQ+ people want what we all want: To be treated with dignity. To live and raise families in safety. To gain an education. To have fulfilling jobs. To be afforded the same rights as any other American citizen. To have the right to exist. Queer people are not out to destroy your way of life, harm your children, or “replace” you. We ask for peaceful, respectful coexistence.
Don’t be fooled into thinking it’s good that only a few of Iowa’s 30+ anti-LGBTQ+ bills became law. Or that the Iowa Legislature will stop at condemning only transgender youth. The bills that were not passed are still out there. Other rights will fall — rights like gender-affirming care for transgender adults, same-sex marriage, and anti-discrimination protections in hiring and housing.
The hard-earned progress made in the last 50 years could be undone within the next decade. Remember, Iowa was among the first states in the nation to legalize same-sex marriage in 2009, six years before it became the law of the land. Being anti-LGBTQ+ is not an Iowa value. The Iowa Legislature’s majority party is importing these ideas and forcing them on us, because they can.
Becoming an ally is not hard but it takes more than attending Pride Fest once a year. Educate yourself, then educate others. Get involved civically. Stand up for LGBTQ+ people. Write your elected officials. Vote for candidates who support LGBTQ+ rights. Our friends need us more now than ever!
Flowers were placed outside of the USAID headquarters in Washington.
My Note: Please Read to understand that this is not the first purge.
On Jan. 22, 1953, his first day as secretary of state, John Foster Dulles addressed a group of diplomats at his department’s still-new headquarters in Washington’s Foggy Bottom neighborhood. For years, the State Department had come under fire from Republicans and conservative activists as a haven for Communist spies and sympathizers — and not without reason, since one of its rising stars, Alger Hiss, had been convicted of perjury in January 1950 for lying about giving secret government documents to a Soviet spy.
The failure to find more Hisses, and the fact that Hiss’ actions had taken place over a decade in the past, did nothing to appease men like Sen. Joseph McCarthy, who shot to national prominence just weeks after Hiss’ conviction with his claim to have a list of hundreds of spies within the State Department. By the time Dulles arrived that morning, public faith in the department, and morale within it, had cratered.
With his opening speech to his new employees, Dulles made clear that while he was their boss, he was not on their side. “Dulles’s words were as cold and raw as the weather” that day, wrote the diplomat Charles Bohlen. Dulles announced that starting that day, he expected not just loyalty but “positive loyalty” from his charges, making clear that he would fire anyone whose commitment to anti-communism was less than zealous. “It was a declaration by the Secretary of State that the department was indeed suspect,” Bohlen wrote. “The remark disgusted some Foreign Service officers, infuriated others, and displeased even those who were looking forward to the new administration.”
So began what — until now — was the largest purge of “disloyal” government workers in U.S. history.
Similar scenes soon played out across the federal government under the new administration of Dwight D. Eisenhower, the first Republican elected president in two decades. Though the State Department was ground zero for the anti-communist purges, FBI agents scoured the files of thousands of employees across the federal government. In April 1953, Eisenhower issued Executive Order 10450, which opened an energetic campaign to investigate thousands of potential security threats throughout the government.
...
The widespread political purges of the early 1950s echo clearly today. Seventy years ago, the reasonable pretext of hunting Soviet agents opened the way to a yearslong, paranoid campaign, motivated by outlandish conspiracy theories, that destroyed countless careers but did nothing to improve America’s security.
Today, a stated desire to check the excesses of diversity, equity and inclusion programs has already been used to justify whirlwind firings and closures of entire federal offices. So it may be wise to consider the consequences of that previous era of purges, part of what came to be known as the “Red Scare.”
At a time of intense geopolitical competition, the United States kneecapped itself, removing thousands of valuable employees and forcing those who remained into unhappy conformity. It is hard not to see the same mistake being repeated today
Ending Radical And Wasteful Government DEI Programs And Preferencing EXECUTIVE ORDER
By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered:
Section 1. Purpose and Policy. The Biden Administration forced illegal and immoral discrimination programs, going by the name “diversity, equity, and inclusion” (DEI), into virtually all aspects of the Federal Government, in areas ranging from airline safety to the military. This was a concerted effort stemming from President Biden’s first day in office, when he issued Executive Order 13985, “Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government.”
Pursuant to Executive Order 13985 and follow-on orders, nearly every Federal agency and entity submitted “Equity Action Plans” to detail the ways that they have furthered DEIs infiltration of the Federal Government. The public release of these plans demonstrated immense public waste and shameful discrimination. That ends today. Americans deserve a government committed to serving every person with equal dignity and respect, and to expending precious taxpayer resources only on making America great.
Sec. 2. Implementation. (a) The Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), assisted by the Attorney General and the Director of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), shall coordinate the termination of all discriminatory programs, including illegal DEI and “diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility” (DEIA) mandates, policies, programs, preferences, and activities in the Federal Government, under whatever name they appear. To carry out this directive, the Director of OPM, with the assistance of the Attorney General as requested, shall review and revise, as appropriate, all existing Federal employment practices, union contracts, and training policies or programs to comply with this order. Federal employment practices, including Federal employee performance reviews, shall reward individual initiative, skills, performance, and hard work and shall not under any circumstances consider DEI or DEIA factors, goals, policies, mandates, or requirements.
(b) Each agency, department, or commission head, in consultation with the Attorney General, the Director of OMB, and the Director of OPM, as appropriate, shall take the following actions within sixty days of this order:
(i) terminate, to the maximum extent allowed by law, all DEI, DEIA, and “environmental justice” offices and positions (including but not limited to “Chief Diversity Officer” positions); all “equity action plans,” “equity” actions, initiatives, or programs, “equity-related” grants or contracts; and all DEI or DEIA performance requirements for employees, contractors, or grantees.
(ii) provide the Director of the OMB with a list of all:
(A) agency or department DEI, DEIA, or “environmental justice” positions, committees, programs, services, activities, budgets, and expenditures in existence on November 4, 2024, and an assessment of whether these positions, committees, programs, services, activities, budgets, and expenditures have been misleadingly relabeled in an attempt to preserve their pre-November 4, 2024 function;
(B) Federal contractors who have provided DEI training or DEI training materials to agency or department employees; and
(C) Federal grantees who received Federal funding to provide or advance DEI, DEIA, or “environmental justice” programs, services, or activities since January 20, 2021.
(iii) direct the deputy agency or department head to:
(A) assess the operational impact (e.g., the number of new DEI hires) and cost of the prior administration’s DEI, DEIA, and “environmental justice” programs and policies; and
(B) recommend actions, such as Congressional notifications under 28 U.S.C. 530D, to align agency or department programs, activities, policies, regulations, guidance, employment practices, enforcement activities, contracts (including set-asides), grants, consent orders, and litigating positions with the policy of equal dignity and respect identified in section 1 of this order. The agency or department head and the Director of OMB shall jointly ensure that the deputy agency or department head has the authority and resources needed to carry out this directive.
(c) To inform and advise the President, so that he may formulate appropriate and effective civil-rights policies for the Executive Branch, the Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy shall convene a monthly meeting attended by the Director of OMB, the Director of OPM, and each deputy agency or department head to:
(i) hear reports on the prevalence and the economic and social costs of DEI, DEIA, and “environmental justice” in agency or department programs, activities, policies, regulations, guidance, employment practices, enforcement activities, contracts (including set-asides), grants, consent orders, and litigating positions;
(ii) discuss any barriers to measures to comply with this order; and
(iii) monitor and track agency and department progress and identify potential areas for additional Presidential or legislative action to advance the policy of equal dignity and respect.
Sec. 3. Severability. If any provision of this order, or the application of any provision to any person or circumstance, is held to be invalid, the remainder of this order and the application of its provisions to any other persons or circumstances shall not be affected.
Sec. 4. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this order shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:
(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or the head thereof; or
(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.
(b) This order shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and subject to the availability of appropriations.
(c) This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.
A view of the Gay Liberation statues in Stonewall National Monument Greenwich Village NY
CNN — The National Park Service has removed references to transgender and queer people on its web page for the Stonewall National Monument, which marks the site of the New York City inn where LGBTQ rioters – including now-legendary transgender activists – galvanized a movement for LGBTQ rights.
On the NPS web page, the term “LGBTQ+” was also shortened to “LGB,” according to an archived version of the page.
“This feels especially personal … when you’re coming into the birthplace of the LGBTQ rights movement – where Pride began – and erasing the history of the LGBTQ rights movement by erasing trans folks,” said Stacy Lentz, co-owner of the Stonewall Inn.
The Stonewall Inn at the heart of New York City’s Greenwich Village is prized as an origin of the contemporary LGBTQ rights movement and is internationally revered as a symbol of gay, lesbian and transgender resistance. The gay bar was the site of a 1969 police raid that sparked a fierce backlash from its patrons and led to days of protests and skirmishes between LGBTQ rioters and police.
The National Parks Service’s action is the latest move in the Trump administration’s sweeping efforts to expunge references to trans and nonbinary people across federal agencies.
Since President Donald Trump issued a directive last month that the federal government only recognize two genders: male and female, agencies including the State Department and CDC have truncated the “LGBTQ+” acronym to simply “LGB,” erased references to trans, queer and intersex people, and removed web pages and data sets relating to the groups.
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Trump has in recent weeks issued a parade of executive orders aimed at eliminating trans community’s access to health care, ability to participate in sports and serve openly in the military. Some of the orders have already created chaos and confusion as they threaten to revoke federal funding for hospitals, research institutions, colleges and universities that provide services for trans people or organize programs to benefit them.
“We’re seeing history replay in real time and we cannot allow for that,” Christina said. “We must stand up. We must align as a community and fight back and support trans, nonbinary and intersex people in this country because we are in danger.”
Community embers began gathering outside the Stonewall Thursday night as news of the park service’s action spread, Lentz said. She believed the crowd will continue growing and tip off protests in the coming days.
When I found this pink top, I immediately fell in love. I thought to myself, I am so not a pink girl! But, here's another great excuse to step outside my comfort zone... I decided to go for it! The silhouette and big ruffled shoulders totally sucked me in. I figured I would write about stepping out of my box, being "girly", being "feminine" and then I thought about it more... What does being feminine really mean? Does wearing pink make me any more "girly" or "feminine" than I am when I wear all black? So then, I changed my mind. I decided I would write the post about what being feminine means. Until I sat down to write it... and? stuck again. What does it really mean to be feminine?
I started reading tons of forums and articles on the topic, nobody could agree. So, I decided, it doesn't have to mean just one defined thing. I turned to the women in my life to help me on this one. I talked to a bunch of friends about what femininity means to them and decided what I wanted to do here is share those thoughts. So, I asked the question: "what does it mean to be feminine?" Here is what those close to me answered...
"To me, femininity transcends social stigmas and defies fashion and beauty norms. It's an ever-evolving word that can be defined through characteristics such as strength, confidence, perseverance, patience, and kindness. Above all, I think it's about empowerment - empowering yourself, your loved ones and others around you!"
"I think femininity is feeling comfortable in your skin and reminding yourself you're worth it. I don't think women tell themselves their worth often enough and I think what makes me feel most feminine is when I take a moment, breath, and really take in a private moment for myself. When I can reflect and create routines for myself that take care of ME, that's when I feel most confident as a woman. Especially since I have been so busy and stressed lately, those moments when I get home, do my skin routine, turn on essential oils, and work on a mindfulness hobby, I feel whole and beautiful."
It means finding your own balance between bold and subtle, powerful and delicate, or sexy and conservative. To be feminine means learning when and how you feel like your best, most confident self. And once you find that, it means not letting anyone tell you you're not feminine."
"To be feminine, to me, means to celebrate all things about being a girl. The chance to twirl in a gorgeous gown, to paint my nails a bubblegum pink, to bat my eyelashes and flirt. Basically, to indulge in the deliciousness of being a woman."
My Note: So, what does being feminine mean to you? I would love to hear your thoughts!
A post from a few years ago...Not sure why it never went live. Enjoy...
Emma Sparre-Newman and Ian Newman wore identical outfits for their big day and from the same shop.
Ian Newman, 53, from East Dulwich, south London, decided to stay true to himself and got hitched in a bridal gown. And bride Emma Sparre-Newman walked down the aisle and met him at the altar in an identical frock.
He said: 'My wedding day was fantastic. I felt utterly wonderful.
'I imagine as wonderful as any bride does when they get dressed up. You just feel a million dollars.'
'Everyone found it hilarious that he was more keen to go dress shopping than I was.'
On a day-to-day basis, musician Ian typically wears a black kilt and t-shirt whilst out and about.
But he almost always wears dresses - complete with bust padding - and high heels when at home.
Emma added: 'I had been very anti-wedding as I didn't want to stress about what was a very happy experience but trying on dresses was so much fun.
Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma - which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of other's opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”
Some crazy threshold was breeched last week. OK, like 77 was not enough? I have been getting minor cosmetic procedures over the last few years, always with the caveat, “not too much”. The neck lift was major about 7 years ago. However, only enhancing my overall look; neither masculine nor feminine.
My lips, even as male, have been severely lacking in definition. Even to the point that girlfriends would comment that, “you don’t have lips”. As my feminine self, I would always line my lips outside the natural contour and then fill in to add definition.
Several years ago, a cosmetic procedure physician suggested fillers. I was hesitant because I had seen this procedure used to the extreme with lips, so exaggerated, arriving way too soon when seeing someone for the first time. Finally, I did give in with explicit instructions “not too much”.
My results were always as I had instructed. The good news / bad news to this procedure is that there is limited visual duration. I have seen personally three to six months, always with some residual benefits remaining up to a year.
My first experience was with a very competent physician's Assistant, Lori, at a cosmetic surgeon’s office. I was super pleased and after a few days of initial swelling, "I had lips”. A slight but subtle difference. I lost her, in that she moved to another physician’s office. Just this past week we reconnected, and she had a lunchtime opening. A birthday offering to myself was in the making.
This time I provided minimal instruction. My presentation was totally feminine, having just left a software client’s office, and with my long hair, I provided no precautionary “not too much” guidance. I trusted Lori to not go for the over-the-top look. From my previous experience and her expert professional manner, I knew I was literally in good hands.
We agreed on one syringe of a tried-and-true cosmetic filler. The numbing process took a few minutes and the whole procedure took about 30 minutes.
After, her announcement to me and the assistant helping with the procedure, “They look so feminine now”.
OMG - What have I done?
A few years back that would have struck total fear in me. A deep breath followed, and I thought “I am Ok with this”. The results are gorgeous, and the swelling from the invasive nature of the injections will subside in a few more days. I already have a natural, and yes, feminine look.
Maybe I have come-a-long-way in my own self-acceptance. Today I want to project the confidence befitting that person I am. Thank you Lori!
CNN: While promoting her new series “Clean Slate” costarring comedian George Wallace, Cox discussed the importance of remaining visible as a trans performer, and telling trans stories. In the show, she plays the estranged child of an older man who returns home as his daughter for the first time.
“In terms of the trans aspect of it, we’re experiencing the most intense backlash against trans visibility that I’ve seen in my lifetime,” Cox said, in reference to new legislation against trans rights, following several similar laws in the past few years.
“You know, the Republican Party spent $215 million on anti-trans ads in this last election, and if you watched, you would think the last election was about trans people and immigrants,” she added.
“Executive orders limiting our rights, 26 states banned gender affirming care for young people, banning us from the military, from bathrooms… there’s this whole anti-trans thing, and we’re less than 1% of the population,” Cox said. “Someone in my comment section said, ‘They’re worried about the wrong 1%.’”
According to CNN reporting, a 2021 study found that 1.2 million Americans – out of a total population of around 337 million people in the country – identified as non-binary. The other “1%” Cox was referring to is often referred to as the “top 1%,” namely the richest sliver of the population.
Regardless of the situation, Cox continued to focus on the positives and what she hopes her show can accomplish.
“In 2025, as federal bans come down attacking trans people, what I love about this show and what I love about being an artist is that artists can be arbiters of empathy,” she observed, adding that empathy “can foster humanity.”
“Trans people have been so deeply dehumanized over the past several years. Art,” she said, in reference to her new show, “getting to know trans people as people, is a way to rehumanize.”
She also touched on the comedy in her new show, which was developed with the late Norman Lear and counts him as an executive producer, and how comedy can often serve as the best weapon in the face of adversity.
“Laughter, because it’s so catastrophic, it’s ridiculous, and sometimes you have to laugh and we must laugh. And that is what Norman Lear always put first, is the laughter,” the “Orange is the New Black” star said. “I hope that – not just for trans people, but for everybody – (‘Clean Slate’) fosters more empathy, more love, more humanizing.”
My Note: This is an absolutely fascinating story of one person's discovery. It plays into current politics surrounding sex and gender. It explores Ben's feeling and the science of sex. It highlights the fallacy of the binary. I am going to leave it you to read Ben's story and quote only his outcome.
The beginning: The day after Donald Trump’s inauguration, I opened my phone to a news update saying the president had signed an executive order mandating that the government acknowledge only two sexes: male and female.
It felt like someone had walked up behind me and walloped me over the head with a phone book. I was angered by the basic misinformation and willful ignorance that this declaration promotes about an individual’s sex.
...
An executive order effectively declaring the nonexistence of intersex and trans individuals will never make us cease to exist. It just puts our lives at risk. At a time in our country when leaders aim to censor human stories from the national narrative, it’s essential that we share our truths.
