Categotry Archives: below the belt

My latest post for Below The Belt is now up:

I invariably use trans as short for transgendered, and transgendered in its so-called “umbrella sense”: embracing anyone with a variance with the gender assigned to them because of their biological sex. (When referring to a transsexual’s gender, however, I use trans as an adjective modifying that gender: trans man, trans woman. Although this is slightly confusing, I agree with Julia Serano and helen boyd that the space is vital in avoiding “othering” or invalidating a transsexual’s gender–something that transwoman doesn’t do, since it implies that transsexual women aren’t women but something else entirely).

You can read the rest here.

My bimonthly post for Below The Belt is up!

One of the things about being part of a maginalized population that is the most fun–if for fun, you read “uncomfortable, occasionally stomach-churningly so”–is that many pleasures cannot simply remain unmixed: messages, tropes, and cultural references that can be overlooked, disregarded or just plain unseen by the dominant group hit home with you in unmistakable and unignorable ways.

Even worse is when you make the, ahem, transition from dominant to marginalized groups. Things that once gave you easy enjoyment now leave a bad taste in your mouth, and when you complain, people tell you you’ve become humorless or a radical.

And that’s just when you talk about popular entertainment.

Which leads me to Adult Swim…

You can read the rest here.

Edit: Links Now Work–Sorry!

My second post for Below the Belt is up!

When I practice aikido, I always wear lipstick.

That probably seems odd. I mean, getting thrown around the floor has nothing to do with my cosmetics–despite advertising claims to the contrary, lipstick won’t improve my performance or even distract my partner with my feminine wiles.

Still, I always make sure to wear some lipstick when I practice. Because I want to have something about me that looks feminine.

Normally I don’t need to worry about such things. I am a bit of a femme by nature and wear skirts about as often as pants. I’ve developed sufficient curves over the course of my transition that I don’t worry too much about the remaining somewhat-masculine features I possess.

But when I am practicing at the dojo, I find myself much more insecure about my appearance. Squashed into a sports bra and muffled under the heavy layers of my uniform top, my breasts are much less noticeable. Ditto my hips. With my hair pulled back for comfort and convenience, my face reveals a masculine cast. I suddenly become very conscious of how much taller, heavier, and broader I am than most ofthe other female students

You can read the rest here! And yes, new posts to the Blog Itself are coming, ducks!