You have reached the Newsletter Archives of the Alpha Omega Society.  To browse through different years, click on button labeled "Up".  To explore our website click on the button labeled "Home".
If you want to search our website for something in particular, click right here to be taken to our search page.

La Femme Silhouette

June  2000

Alpha Omega Minutes May 13, 2000

Vice President Paula Kay called the meeting to order. We all signed a sympathy card for Peggy for the loss of her brother.

Treasurer’s Report: Balance in the checking is $2780.16, Outreach fund $523.48, and Petty cash $50.00.

Lori introduced the new people Sara and Barb and our speakers Karen and Bob Gross. Ari passed a sheet for everyone to put their birthday, day and month only, also to update their e-mail address. She also asked for articles for the newsletter.

Next month we will have our cookout. This will be a regular meeting.

General affairs decided to have a work committee meeting June 25^th. At Diane Brennan’s.

TriEss is doing a Skin so Soft Bug Guard fundraiser.

Lori saw her first crossdresser at a mall in Florida, while she was on vacation.

Olena still needs stories.

The August meeting will be July 29^th. This will be Cheryl and Lisa’s wedding.

With no further business the meeting was adjourned.

Respectfully Submitted

Elaine Benton

Secretary/Treasurer

This July Alpha Omega is hosting the biannual board meeting for Triess International. On Saturday July 29^th, you will have a chance to meet many of these hard-working members. Included in their ranks:

Carol Beecroft, Executive Director. Hailing from sunny California, Carol is one of the founding members of Triess.

Virginia Prince, Director Investments. Also from California, Virginia, as another founding member, has made quite a name for herself among the Transgendered community as The Groundbreaker.

Jane Ellen Fairfax, Chair of the Board, and Frances Fairfax, Secretary, currently residing in Texas have both visited us before as National speakers.

Naomi Owen, Vice-Chair of the Board, from Illinois has also graced us with her presence.

Donna Martin, Director Membership, also of Illinois reminds us yearly to pay our dues.

To people dropping in here from the Drudge report- Ok..that explains why we've been getting all these hits on this page in the past few days before the story broke.  The Samantha Walls named below is/was an officer of an organization called TriEss..which if the reporter had read with even a little care he or she would have understood. Samantha Walls has nothing to do with the Alpha Omega Society. We severed our connection with TriEss over a year ago.  We have no knowledge of Samantha Walls beyond this, or any interest in Texas Politics and whether a certain candidate is a crossdresser.  

As a matter of policy we hope for the day when this sort of thing would be treated with the same indifference as the color of a person's eyes.  Clearly that's not the case yet.  We do invite the curious to look further around our site.  There is nothing salacious about this place, but there's plenty of food for thought.  You can think about people's right to privacy, freedom of expression and the separation of public and private behavior.  You can ask yourself what characteristics inform a person's ability to do a given job.  You can ask yourself whether there aren't some things about your past or present that you'd prefer to be kept private.  Then if you can spare a few more moments you can think about questions of gender and gender expression and the choices society imposes on people.  We've got lots of material to look at.  Enjoy.

Samantha Walls, Treasurer from Texas, is more than glad to take our money and dole it out as needed.

She also visited us in the past.

Marlene of California, Director Big Sister Program, has helped make many a newcomer’s acclimation easier.

Who hasn’t heard of Drs. Peggy Rudd, Director Spouses and Partners, and Melanie Rudd, Director Finance? (Texas again)

What about Judy Daniels (Texas), Director Outreach? Her efforts have brought Triess to the attention of hundreds of Crossdressers.

Denise Peters (Illinois), Director Membership Directory, keeps those updates flowing.

Two Directors, Lynda Frank and Susan Lynnette Vanderbilt, represent the East Coast – New Jersey.

Last but not least, Deanna Johns from Illinois round out the Directors.

Which of these will be at the July 29^th meeting? You’ll have to attend and find out!
 
 

Fashion and Femininity

By Miss Sally Stone

From a fashion standpoint, I often wish that I had been orn early enough to wear the clothing of the 1940's. Those styles were so feminine and so chic. I loved the A-line skirts, short waistcoats, and high heels. Red lips were en vogue back then, as were hairstyles that consisted of long full locks and sweeping soft curls. If those styles were available today, I would most certainly wear them as a matter of choice, because in my mind's eye, those 40's styles really did spell femininity.

Today, the fashions although greatly varied, tend towards the more functional and comfortable, and of course for women who unlike crossdressers, don't have to wear their femininity on the outside, current styles make good sense. For me unfortunately, with my male body and no inherent femininity built in, the clothes I choose to wear define my femininity.

I'm not saying that current fashions are not feminine, and in fact, many of them are, it's just that my vision of what is feminine and a woman's vision of what is feminine are decidedly different. Women don't need clothing or make-up to express their femininity. Take my wife for example. Being a typical woman (no offense to those of you who refuse to count yourselves among the typical), she is content to wear jeans and a sweatshirt, or a loose fitting sweater. To her these articles of clothing are just as feminine as a low cut dress or a form-fitting gown. On the other hand, I choose to wear those low cut dresses, high heel shoes, or form fitting gowns because they make me feel feminine. Where lipstick, make-up and nail polish help define my femininity, they are merely fashion accessories to my wife.

Apparently, women and crossdressers view femininity from decidedly different frames of reference, and this results in a poignant question: just what is femininity anyway? Ultimately, the definition is biased towards the individual defining it. A woman's idea of femininity revolves mainly around a certain state of being. It has more to do with how she feels inside, and a whole lot less to do with what she wears on the outside. As my wife says, femininity is all about being a woman (a revelation).

A crossdresser on the other hand, has never experienced what it is like to be a woman and therefore, has no concept of what it is like to be truly female (I think). Consequently, he can only apply what he sees as feminine, to the definition of femininity. What the crossdresser sees a woman wearing compels him to imitate in an attempt to express femininity.

I think this is one of the reasons, women who have relationships with crossdressers struggle so much with the concept. We tell them that in order to feel whole we must express our feminine side, and the only way to do that is to dress like a woman. In the woman's mind; however, she fails to understand the connection between wardrobe and feminine expression. No wonder the crossdresser and the partner; often have such a difficult time understanding the others' position.

Ultimate feminine expression on the crossdresser's part, I believe, would be extraordinarily difficult. Obviously, it goes way beyond wardrobe and fashion accessories. I'm not altogether sure, that for the crossdresser, true feminine expression is even possible. Moreover, if even it were, would any of us be willing to go as far as would be necessary to do it?
 
 

Once upon a time the colors of the world started to quarrel: all claimed that they were the best, the most important, the most useful, the favorite.

GREEN said: "Clearly I am the most important. I am the sign of life and of hope. I was chosen for grass, trees, leaves - without me, all animals
would die. Look over the countryside and you will see that I am in the majority."

BLUE interrupted: "You only think about the earth, but consider the sky and the sea. It is the water that is the basis of life and drawn up by the clouds from the deep sea. The sky gives space and peace and serenity. Without my peace, you would all be nothing."

YELLOW chuckled: "You are all so serious. I bring laughter, gaiety, and warmth into the world. The sun is yellow, the moon is yellow, the stars are yellow. Every time you look at a sunflower, the whole world starts to smile. Without me there would be no fun."

ORANGE started next to blow her trumpet: "I am the color of health and strength. I may be scarce, but I am precious for I serve the needs of
human life. I carry the most important vitamins. Think of carrots, pumpkins, oranges, mangoes, and pawpaws. I don't hang around all the
time, but when I fill the sky at sunrise or sunset, my beauty is so striking that no one gives another thought to any of you."

RED could stand it no longer. He shouted out: "I am the ruler of all of you - I am blood - life's blood! I am the color of danger and of bravery. I am willing to fight for a cause. I bring fire into the blood. Without me, the earth would be as empty as the moon. I am the color of passion and of love, the red rose, the poinsettia and the poppy."

PURPLE rose up to his full height. He was very tall and spoke with great pomp: "I am the color of royalty and power. Kings, chiefs, and bishops have always chosen me for I am the sign of authority and wisdom. People do not question me - they listen and obey."

Finally, INDIGO spoke, much more quietly than all the others, but with just as much determination: "Think of me. I am the color of silence. You hardly notice me, but without me you all become superficial. I represent thought and reflection, twilight and deep water. You need me for balance and contrast, for prayer and inner peace."

And so the colors went on boasting, each convinced of his or her own superiority. Their quarreling became louder and louder. Suddenly there was a startling flash of bright lightening - thunder rolled and boomed. Rain started to pour down relentlessly The colors crouched down in fear, drawing close to one another for comfort.

In the midst of the clamor, RAIN began to speak: "You foolish colors, fighting amongst yourselves, each trying to dominate the rest. Don't you
know that you were each made for a special purpose, unique and different?

Join hands with one another and come to me."

Doing as they were told, the colors united and joined hands. RAIN continued: "From now on, when it rains, each of you will stretch across
the sky in a great bow of color as a reminder that you can all live in peace.

The rainbow is a sign of hope for tomorrow."

And so, whenever a good rain washes the world, and a rainbow appears in the sky, let us remember to appreciate one another and walk the

RAINBOW TRAIL of peace and harmony together.
 

P.S.

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.