Being Me

The history of nail polish is an interesting one; it goes back many thousands of years and was once worn by both genders. Today? It's very much a feminine choice and, while sometimes worn by men, it's not terribly common. I don't often wear polish on my fingernails, primarily because I don't dress feminine for extended periods of time and it seems like a fair bother if it's just for a few hours. However, I wear toenail polish almost all the time. This past week, though, I was on vacation and that vacation included extended time with my larger family. So, off came the toenail polish for what seemed a very long, and very less colourful, week. That time is past and a new coat of polish once again adorns my toes. What's interesting, though, is I wonder how many might have said something should they have seen my colourful toes? I didn't stop shaving my legs, they're pretty obviously hairless, and nobody has commented yet. At this point, I almost have ...

A really nice story about coming together as a couple at the start of a transition. I'm not going to go into detail, it's worth a read: After my wife came out as trans, we found her name together.

In what, I think, is a major signal of change comes from a great article in the Chicago Tribune: Boys are wearing U.S. Women’s National Team jerseys and that feels like progress . It is progress, huge progress I think, in starting to tear down the gender barriers that society has long put up. I'm not a soccer fan, but I think it's high time that a female sporting event was attracting as much attention as this one.

Pride Toronto isn't that far away now, though with the weather here, it feels like it should be a couple of months still. It's an event that often has me thinking...

Do you think about passing? Do you care if you pass? What does it mean when we ask if we pass? Does it matter? Tough questions...

I follow a few fashion houses, including the likes of Ted Baker, Kate Spade, and Maison Simons ( a really great Canadian company). Recently, I'm seeing a spike in their photography depicting models in really beautiful clothing wearing various forms of sandals with socks. Sigh.

Today is the International Transgender Day of Visibility, a day to show celebration and support for all of our transgender and non-binary friends around the world. It's not an easy thing to be transgender or gender-fluid these days, there is an active and virulent anti-transgender movement in full swing. Much of it is tied to the ultra-religious right wing of the United States, but it's not just them. Even those in more moderate places on the political spectrum, as well as those on the far left, are generally okay with allowing, and even abetting, trans oppression. This is where I've never really been able to wrap my head around the persistence of this anti-trans prejudice across the political spectrum. I just don't understand why it's so virulent, why any should carry that much hate in them. Do they fear something? What is motivating them? I just don't get it. My company is, I think, among the top employers around when it comes to supporting the LGBTQ c...