Newsletter
ARCHIVE

[Upfront] More tweaks and thanks.
[Viewpoint] Is AO still relevant to CD's today?
[On the Town] Diane's excellent adventures - out on the town.
[The Self Portrait] Elaine found this exploration into what self-portraiture - the seeming lifeblood of many CDs - might mean.
[Labels] When the shoe doesn't fit.
[Pauline Park] TG Activist, Pauline Park Ph.D., visits Cleveland.
[April Meeting] Minutes of April 9, 2005 meeting.
[Last Laugh] A bit of humour from the incredible Eddie Izzard.
[A CD eye for art] Alpha & Omega

[Upfront]
MORE TWEAKS...

The linked table of contents is back! Just click on the bracketed title [xxxxx] above to go directly to an article or scroll down and read every word (preferred). Click on any image to see it full size.

Thanks again to Diane, Gloria and Kathleen for this months contributions - Elaine S.

[Viewpoint]
ARE WE STILL VIABLE?

Our chair, Gloria S. Fenton, explores whether our group's offerings to the crossdresser are still relevant in this ever changing society.

Every so often the question arises as to whether a group like Alpha Omega is still viable in today’s society. In some ways, it is a valid question. The internet has opened up so many opportunities for people to get information about cross dressing that were totally unheard of fifteen to twenty years ago. That information can be gotten very easily in the privacy of one’s home with reasonable anonymity. There are group web sites, personal web sites, chat rooms, etc., that can be used to help answer questions, and even provide contact and interactive communication from others all around the world.

And our society has changed, as well. I understand that back in the early sixties some CD groups had to be extremely secretive for fear of being arrested for crossdressing. That is not much of a fear now, but can you imagine having to overcome that fear, just to attend a meeting? Back then, if television portrayed crossdressing, it generally only had two characterizations. There was the comical aspect of performers like Milton Berle, or the sinister aspect of a cross dresser being a criminal, as on a couple of very early Dragnet shows.

I remember back in the late sixties watching the Ed Sullivan Show and watching Jim Bailey perform as Judy Garland and Peggy Lee. A short time later on the very first People’s Choice Awards, Barbra Streisand won as best female singer, but could not attend the show. In her place, Jim Bailey sang Evergreen, dressed as Barbra.

To me, those were amazing things to happen. It wasn’t done as a joke, or made to be sinister, and people enjoyed it. Yet when Phil Donahue wore a skirt on his talk show for a program that featured a crossdressing fashion show, it was a media scandal. Ironically, some of the highest rated talk show episodes have involved crossdressing, and still do today. Television gave us Geraldine and more recently, RuPaul and Briny Maxwell.

Movies have portrayed crossdressing many times from Some Like It Hot, Glen and Glenda, to Sorority Boys. Even movies like To Wong Foo, The Adventures of Pricilla, Queen of the Desert and Normal though not crossdressing movies, did impact people’s thoughts on crossdressers in general. Let’s face it, seeing Gene Hackman and Arnold Schwartzenegger in drag does have an impact.

Books, plays, nightclub shows, and the internet have taken off some of the critical edge that cross dressers used to face. So, too, have cross dressing conventions. Today, many crossdressers are out and about going to clubs on Saturday night, going out to dinner, going to plays, or even just shopping. Many brave souls have also fought for the legal rights of crossdressers and transgendered individuals. Even performers like David Bowie, and the Glamour Rock bands took an edge off men wearing feminine clothes, feminine jewelry, and full make up.

Though no fashion designer I know of has really made an impact with skirts for men, they still bring them out every so often, just like they do purses for men. Fashion itself has made unisex clothing and made a lot of clothes more gender neutral.

I think, too, that today we hear so much news and stories of shocking things from all around the world, that crossdressing, in general, is rather mundane to most people, especially if it does not impact their life. It is a different world than it used to be. My community would have crucified me if I had worn a skirt to school, and yet now I have heard of many schools that actually have “Cross Dressing Day” for the students. Of course, back in my day, a girl was not allowed to wear slacks or jeans to school.

For many, the lack of stigma attached to crossdressing in public, having accepting clubs and restaurants, and other venues to go to does make a group like ours seem far too tame for their needs. I am happy for them. Still, others seem to find just dressing at home, and/or perhaps partaking of the internet to be all they require to meet the privacy they need. I am happy for them, too.

In many ways my world has not changed much. I live in a small town, and a lot of people know my family and me. I’d be fired in a minute if my boss knew about Gloria. Though I have gone out in public a few times, it is rare, and for me anyways, a club is not my scene. An internet chat room doesn’t do a thing for me, and I am not very computer literate or care to be. I admit to being a homebody and being with loved ones and friends who know me as a person, and care that I exist.

Alpha Omega may have been a group for me to find acceptance as Gloria when I joined sixteen years ago, but it is now far more. I may still refer to going to a meeting, but the reality for me is that it is time that I can spend with friends that I love dearly. Many people laugh when I tell them that I am very much a shy introvert, but it is true. Alpha Omega stopped being a group to me a long time ago because it became my extended family. I do have family and friends who accept me outside of Alpha Omega, and I cherish them, but can’t see them too often. Every month, though, I know I can spend a few hours with loved ones in the safety and security I need in my life for my family and me.

That may be very closeted for some, but not for me. To each their own. I have known and know many like me. There is an irony that even the safety and security of an Alpha Omega get together can be too fearful for some. Alpha Omega gave me the chance to overcome my fears and doubts, and let me discover who I am as Gloria, and find the fulfillment I needed in my life. That is a wondrous thing to me, and what I hope for all who become a part of A.O.

I have seen many people discover themselves and learn and grow as human beings because of A.O. Just recently someone came to an A.O. get together. Years ago they and their wife had attended Paradise Club, and even a few A.O. meetings. The wife became very ill and either no longer attended meetings. With great support from her wife, and making contact with A.O. again, Margaret came to our March get together. Margaret told me that she was somewhat scared to attend, but she did summon her courage to be there. The most telling point came in the days after the get together when I had the chance to talk with Margaret on the phone. As Margaret said, she could just sense and feel the friendship, the love of those there, and the caring that she felt towards her. I have been assured we will see Margaret again. Welcome to the family, Margaret.

Is there still a place and need for Alpha Omega? You bet there is! At least that is what I believe. How about you?

Love Always, Gloria

[On The Town]
LIVING A LIFE FULLY

Diane S. Frank tells us what's happening in her life - out and about in Cleveland

I've really been pushing my comfort zone this last month. There is a subtle difference between looking for a place you can go out "dressed" and having a life where you go places and do things with people, non-trans people who are friends. And it is different when you start saying to yourself, "I'm not going to end my evening and miss something/someone I wanted to see, just because I needed to be in skirts for something else earlier in the day".

April 2- Feminist Pornography/Dance Concert/Dinner
I confess that one of the virtues of having an alter ego is that I can follow my curiosity places where I wouldn’t ordinarily go. When a trendy gallery in the Tremont district announced it was having a festival of pornography for by and about women who were sex workers, feminist pornography as it were, I thought it would be interesting to see who these people were and what they were thinking. Yes, I also wondered what kind of people would show up for the event. Now if you think I’m going to give you a graphic description of what I saw or who was there, you’re going to be disappointed. There were some nods to "trans" sexuality, but despite the feminist perspective it was really numbingly boring. And yes, there were women I know from various GLBT functions who dropped in while I was there as well. I did meet the organizer of the event, and due to poor homework on my part, did not realize that she had worked as a "escort" to fund her first two years of college. I assumed she was simply a graduate student trying to be trendy. Now, I want to follow up and see 1) what fraction of the men were married (lots I'll bet) and 2) to what extent crossdressing figured into things in her personal experience and that of co-workers.

I left early in the evening to attend a dance concert at Cleveland Public Theater.

I "passed" unrecognized at the Dance Concert by people I've taken class with and from (who may know about me but haven't been introduced). One of the volunteers sat next to me and chatted during the pauses.

I had dinner at Snicker afterwards and while the younger crowd had a moment about 15 minutes in to my meal of "oh, that's a guy!" they totally ignored me after that. When I get those, I start to have the desire to ask, "Is there anything you think I should do differently to be less noticeable?"

April 8- Dinner at Shuhei/Rock My Soul Shabbat
For people following these columns, you’ll know that my involvement with Chevrei Tikva, a GLBT synagogue in Cleveland Heights has grown quite a bit. We are now faced with the need to merge with another temple. Like many of the members I’ve been meeting friends and attending Shabbat services at the congregations we might merge with. One Friday night, I met one of my favorite female-female couples from Temple (we had attended their wedding ceremony, all three days, last year) at Shuhei, a very mainstream Japanese Restaurant in Beachwood. As usual, I got a few looks, as those of you who know me are aware that I’m simply too tall to ignore. But being with other people simply sets a context that this is normal. People have other things to do and talk about when they quickly conclude that there is no floorshow.

After dinner we went to Shabbat Services at one of the Temples that we might merge with. It was a lot of fun, and now I know where my next-door neighbor among other people I know goes to Schul. Again I passed unrecognized, although she "sniffed" as she glanced my way as they walked by. We met some of the musicians afterwards and it turned out we had mutual friends. Again not one word about me.

Well, no that’s not exactly true. My friends and I talked about my being "a canary in coal mine." That is a very different direction on the dreaded "what are you doing and why are you doing it?" conversation. We have no choice but to merge with another organization. But we will take some chances doing it. Even though we’ll retain the ability to have regular separate services and social events that reflect our GLBT members, we lose having a separate and discrete facility. Thus people attending our separate services will enter the same door as everyone else, but go off to a room where the "queers" are having their services. Their passage can be noted. This doesn’t bother the "out" among us, but can be a barrier for people who are just starting to come out. You can’t look at a person in general and tell that they are gay. On the other hand, there is no mistaking my "trans" ness. So I become a canary in a coal mine. How these potential partners treat me foretells what the congregation as a whole may experience with time. And it gives us an idea what may happen with the next "Diane" to come along.

April 15- TaDa Tupperware Dinner Party
I learned at services on the 14th that a woman from temple and her partner were hosting a benefit dinner party for the Cleveland GLBT center. One of the women is currently the head of the center and I thought this would be a fun event, plus a chance to catch up and ask a few questions. Besides, Z. told me there was some Tupperware she wanted me to order.

I knew a lot of the people attending this dinner party already, as the active core of the LGCSC leadership isn't that large. A straight woman (and her husband) came because of a business affiliation with the hosts and gave me a bit of an eye when she came in. But once she sat next to me and we got to talking we were fine and she shook my hand at the end and said it was a pleasure to have met me. And not one word about "me". This is my universal experience. I was tickled when she asked me about my husband. That was the first time that had ever happened.

If you are looking for an opportunity to have a nice dinner and meet new people, the TaDa dinner parties are a good opportunity. You can find more information about them on the Center’s website: www.lgcsc.org

April 17- Akron GLBT Coffee House
A young woman photojournalist, who turns out live in the same suburb, is doing a story on Jake and Erin. (They've gained some notoriety because of their attempts to get married. The State of Ohio doesn't recognize Jake’s change in birth certificate from Massachusetts. ) She's my kid's age and we chatted for a while before she asked me about my husband as well. Twice in two days. I guess I really look married. I wonder what kind of husband they were imagining for me.

As usual the coffee house at the UCC on Exchange Street in Akron is a warm, welcoming place to go. Early Sunday evening isn’t exactly a time when people want to go out, but if you do you won’t regret it.

April 22- Dinner w/ Friends at Fire, Apollo's Fire Concert
I was supposed to go to a different Schul to test the Chavarah waters, but my friends had made a mistake on their dates and invited me along with them. This was my first time out with a male couple. I was amazed how much I really wanted to look pretty for them... not that they care. I bought new earrings. There were people at this restaurant I knew as well, and by rights E. should have recognized me from a party 7 years ago... but maybe not.

I was less impressed with the concert than I had hoped. Apollo's Fire has a huge reputation as a Baroque Orchestra. While the coloration of the early instruments was interesting to hear, the whole thing still sounded exactly like I'd expect to hear Mozart. The horn pieces with the natural, unvalved horns were unusual because of how the player used the right hand in the bell to change pitch. It makes for interesting chromatics as the timbre changes with the hand position and thus a scale is not uniformly voiced. But overall, while Apollo’s Fire is a very competent orchestra, I had to wonder what all the fuss has been about.

There were several people in the audience who I know from other venues who passed right by me. I do feel a bit of loss when I can’t just say hello.

April 23- Pauline Park, Dinner, Dance Concert
Pauline is an interesting speaker and a good TG spokesperson. But replicating her success with NYC's TG legal protections will be very hard in Cleveland (see detailed report later in this issue). I could have talked further with her, but I wanted to catch another dance concert at Cleveland Public theatre so I didn't go to dinner with her. I stopped by Snickers again, this time before the show.

When I got to CPT, I found that just about everyone in the Cleveland Modern Dance community was there. Two old friends who I am out to were there and I sat next to a mutual friend, local choreographer and dance teacher who I know far less well. Lots of people who know me on sight who didn't blink.

On the other hand there were some young people, one scantily clad young woman very into her boyfriend who found me hysterical. And on the other hand, in line for refreshments I chatted with the young women behind me perfectly naturally (and one said I didn't look 30 years older than them... so sweet of her). I'm a regular at that theater... and I know the staff both ways. They've never commented. I chatted a bit with the theatre director RR as well.

April 24- Solomon’s and Chevrei Tikva Seder
Sometimes a late snowstorm can be useful. I decided that I needed some strapless bras because of the current fashion for camisole tops, and a lot of them have these really skinny straps. Solomon's is the best place locally to get expert advice, and I try to go at hours when I won't disturb their regular clients, even though I’ve been told I was welcome anytime (Silhouette- October 2003). I planned to go just before the Seder, just before closing, on a Sunday in a snowstorm. They were supposed to be closing early, but they stayed open long enough to sell me a few things. One woman offered to take me in back for fitting (it’s not their policy to do that unfortunately). And I wasn’t going to push that one. There was only one other customer there - she had an occasion that required the right foundation for the right dress. I could identify with that one as my last visit there was to get the right foundation for a dress I wore in Victor/Victoria. I wore a particularly low cut top to make it easier for them to fit me... and this figures later in my evening.

Later, I’m sitting at the Sedar table with five of my best women friends from temple, and immediately next to the mother of a Case student who will be getting married to her high school sweetheart this summer. G. is a terrifically bright and creative psych student, and her presence will be missed when she joins her partner out in Berkeley. (A lot of my gay and lesbian friends are talking about leaving the state due to the laws and policies being promulgated by the down state legislators.) What was especially sweet was that Mom was in town primarily to fit G’s wedding dress.

Our table was the rowdy table. It seems that every group Seder has one. Early in the evening, I felt an earring get snagged in my hair and fall down... where did it go? I finally figured out that it fell into my cleavage (remember that I wore an uncharacteristically low cut blouse). After a little fishing around I found it. I explained to my already jovial friend to my right what had happened to me for the first time, and she laughed so hard she finally had to leave the room.

Diane

[The Self Portrait]
A SEARCH INTO THE SOUL

Don’t know about you but my intro, a few years back, to mass crossdressers on-line was via Susana Marques, U R Not Alone, and Vicki Rene’s websites. Hundreds, if not thousands, of gals with the same gift as I were letting the world know they were alive and well and thriving! Much to my surprise though, like the proverbial snowflake, no two seemed alike. But, with all the varied personalities and designs one could find, there always seemed to be one common denominator - pictures - lots and lots of pictures. The question for me has always been why?

The following University of Maryland posted monograph (author unlisted) introduces us to this phenomenon that reaches back more than 500 years. Click on the link that follows this intro to learn much more about, perhaps, the most personal story an artist (or CD) can tell. - Elaine S.

SELF-PORTRAITS have been a method of self-exploration since humans first gazed at their own reflection in a pool of water. With the invention of the mirror came an even stronger fascination to capture one's likeness. And even within the past ten years, the public's fascination with the way an artist sees him/herself has led to exhibitions like the National Self-Portrait Collection in the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery.

Self-portraits, we have found, can be carefully staged to show the audience only what the artist wishes to project, or deeply revealing, inadvertently displaying feelings of anguish and pain. Self-portraits have been used to test new techniques, make a signature mark, launch into self-study, remember the past, and as a way to release emotion. Whichever way artists choose to construct their images, they are each forced to study their own personas both physically and emotionally.

What do artist's find when they search the mirror? For some the self-portrait is a cathartic experience, a letting go of pent-up emotions. For others, the process reveals new insights about themselves and their work. For all artists, the self-portrait is an exploration, an opportunity to see beyond the image in the mirror and begin to search into the soul.

Click the following link, study the text, and you’ll have an authoritative answer when someone asks you - why?

http://www.research.umbc.edu/~ivy/selfportrait/intro.html

[Labels]
WHEN THE SHOE DOESN'T FIT

Am I a CD, TV, TG, TS, or something else? Common question. Gloria and Diane share their thoughts on "labels".

GLORIA
I just read an AO members recent e-mail. In it she talks about t-girls, transgendered persons, transsexuals, and cross dressers, and all the confusion that she sees with all the labels that get bantered around. Over the years I have written a few articles about what I think about all the labels. As a reminder, I hate them.

There are only a couple labels that I feel suit me, or Martin. We are human beings; we are the persons we are in our hearts, minds, and souls. All I can ever ask of another is that they respect the person I am, as I respect the person they are. Martin is Martin. Gloria is Gloria. You are the person you are. Our rights are human rights.

When I see you, I see you, the person. I don’t need any other labels for that. My thoughts may not be what others believe, but they work for me, and what I believe. As I wrote to Sherry one time years ago, the clothes I wear don’t make me Gloria. Nor do the clothes Martin wears make him Martin. Maybe Popeye said it best. “I am what I am, and that’s all what I am.”

I am a human being, a person, nothing more, and nothing less. At least that is what I think. How about the rest of you who read this? What do you think?

Respectfully, Gloria Fenton

DIANE
A doctor I know tells the following story. A young boy, who was told he had attention deficit disorder started acting up in class. It turned out that he had interpreted the diagnosis to mean he wasn’t getting enough attention, and decided to take matters into his own hands and get more.

This is the problem with labels that isn’t, I think, recognized enough. When people ask what they mean, they are asking for a shortcut to finding out about themselves, rather than doing the work. But in the area of who we are and what makes our lives better, I don’t think there are shortcuts. Your mileage may vary and one size does not fit all. What works for Mary may not work for Sue.

We are all sensitive to the problem of the baggage other people attach to labels. But we may not be sensitive enough to our attachment to our own labels and the implied consequences of owning them. So if you choose to call yourself something crossdresser, transvestite, t-girl, transgender what are you buying into that may not really be you? What appeals to you about a self-label? Make a list of what you do and what you believe. How well does that list match up with what you think goes on with those labels? Do you ever find yourself saying “well, I’m an X- so I oughta try this stuff out?” Or do you think “I really want to be this rather than that, so I’ll change this or that?” To me those are warning signs of taking shortcuts. My advice? Don’t.

Diane

[Pauline Park]
CLEVELAND VISIT

Diane S. Frank shares her thoughts on the recent visit and presentation of TG activist, Pauline Park.

On Saturday, April 23rd, Pauline Park Ph.D. gave a presentation on the work behind getting New York City’s transgender protection law on the book. This presentation at the Gordon Square offices of the GLBT Center for Cleveland was attended by about 20 people including your reporter, Diane Frank, and Deb from Alpha Omega. Dr. Park framed her presentation in terms of three key ideas about social change found in the recent best-selling book The Tipping Point (How Little Things can Make Big Differences) by Malcom Gladwell.

According to Gladwell, Social Epidemics (new ideas) are spread by a handful of exceptional people. I guess it goes without saying that Pauline and the core group of TG advocates in New York who created NYAGRA (NY Association for Gender Rights Advocacy) are such a group. Then HOW the idea is presented is of key importance. NYAGRA worked to avoid sticky issues such as tax-dollars paying for SRS, casual crossdressing in the workplace (that is boy one day, girl another), and religious interactions. They framed and reframed their ideas and goals as simply about matters of discrimination and created links to ideas from older civil rights movements. Finally, according to Park, Gladwell notes that the context in which change occurs is highly important. In the case of NYC, the institution of term limits replaced the all-powerful and anti-TG council head with a friendlier group of people... leading to the transgender protection ordinance being brought to the floor and passed by a 37 of 42 votes.

In looking over the number of community organizing efforts Dr. Park has been involved in, I think that in some cases Ph.D.’s in political science actually do lead to people able to use as well as study our systems. But the primary purpose of the meeting was to encourage thinking about how NYAGRA’s model could be used to achieve similar results in Cleveland. What did NYAGRA actually accomplish? There is now a city ordinance that prohibits discrimination in employment, public accommodation (stores and restaurants), housing on the basis of gender... which is defined to include self-expression.

Here is the text of the law:

A Local Law to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to gender-based discrimination.

Be it enacted by the Council as follows:
§1. Legislative findings and intent. The City Council finds and declares that it is in the interest of the City of New York to protect its citizens from discrimination. Discrimination, prejudice, intolerance and bigotry directly and profoundly threaten the rights and freedom of New Yorkers. The City Council established the Human Rights Law to protect its inhabitants from these dangers. Included in the City’s Human Rights Law is a prohibition of discrimination against individuals based on gender. The scope of this gender-based protection, however, requires clarification. This local law is intended to make clear that all gender-based discrimination – including, but not limited to, discrimination based on an individual’s actual or perceived sex, and discrimination based on an individual’s gender identity, self-image, appearance, behavior, or expression – constitutes a violation of the City’s Human Rights Law.

Gender-based discrimination affects a broad range of individuals. But the impact of gender-based discrimination is especially debilitating for those whose gender self-image and presentation do not fully accord with the legal sex assigned to them at birth. For those individuals, gender-based discrimination often leads to pariah status including the loss of a job, the loss of an apartment, and the refusal of service in public accommodations such as restaurants or stores. The impact of such discrimination can be especially devastating for those who endure other prejudices due to their race, ethnicity, national origin, and citizenship status, in addition to gender-based discrimination. In adopting this legislation, the City Council declares that the ability of all New Yorkers to work and to live free from invidious discrimination based on gender is the guiding principle of public policy and law.

§2. Section 8-102 of chapter one of title eight of the administrative code of the city of New York is amended by adding a new subdivision 23 to read as follows:
23. The term “gender” shall include actual or perceived sex and shall also include a person’s gender identity, self image, appearance, behavior, or expression, whether or not that gender identity, self image, appearance, behavior, or expression is different from that traditionally associated with the legal sex assigned to that person at birth.

§3. This local law shall take effect immediately.

During the meeting someone said Cleveland already had a law on the books protecting employment, however my research on the Cleveland City Ordinances shows only protection for sexual orientation and not gender expression:

Section 667.05 Unlawful Discrimination in Employment

(a) No person shall refuse to employ or to bar or to discharge from employment any person because of race, religion, color, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, ethnic group or Vietnam-era or disabled veteran status of such person.
(b) No person shall refuse to promote or grant any condition or privilege of employment because of race, religion, color, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, ethnic group or Vietnam-era or disabled veteran status of such person.
(c) As used in this section, "person" means an individual, corporation, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, labor organization and association.
(d) As used in this section, "labor organization" means any organization which exists and is constructed for the purpose, in whole or in part, of collective bargaining or of dealing with employers concerning grievances, terms and conditions of employment, or of other mutual aid or protection in connection with employment.
(e) In accordance with the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, 42 U.S.C. 2000bb et seq., and other state and federal laws, nothing in this ordinance shall be construed to infringe the free exercise of religious rights under the First Amendment to the United State Constitution, nor shall the ordinance be construed to affect bona fide occupational qualifications based upon religion for employment.
(Ord. No. 128-97. Passed 1-27-97, eff. 2-6-97)

Whether Dr. Park’s experience’s can be cloned here is subject to question. The differences between the Cleveland metropolitan area and New York City are obvious on the one hand, but need to be enumerated to discern just what difficulties are faced here.

1) There are no Cleveland City residents who we know of who can represent TG issues at Dr. Park’s level. Dr. Park is well-spoken, articulate and presents without difficulty as a woman. Everyone who might step up to be a spokesperson lives in some suburb or another.
2) Ohio State is prone to reach in and undo progressive actions at a local level. For example the recent so-called Defense of Marriage amendment eliminated Cleveland Heights’ domestic partnership registry.
3) Term limits in Ohio has meant the election to office of inexperienced, right-wing legislators from downstate areas who are only invested in advancing narrow ideological agendas for their fixed term.
4) Cleveland’s minority population is largely African-American, and tolerance never mind acceptance of homosexuality from many of Cleveland’s most visible and vocal clerics has been poor. There has been active rejection of the idea of similarity between rights for people with different skin color and people with different sexual orientations.
5) Unlike New York, Cleveland isn’t one big city, but a rather small, impoverished city with much of the regional wealth and economic activity taking place in a ring of suburbs.

One possible means of advancing an agenda of civil rights protections would be to use the GLBT center as the active agent. I suspect that future meetings will be held to organize such activities and we’ll try to keep people informed of what happens.

[April Meeting]
MEETING MINUTES - APRIL 9, 2005

The meeting was called to order, and eight members were in attendance. April’s meeting was very brief, but the following topics were discussed. May will be Hobby Night. Each member is asked to contribute towards the evening with a short presentation of a hobby or past time they enjoy. Our chairperson asked for member’s ideas for future meeting topics.

Members were asked to consider whether or not to meet during the summer months. Traditionally, vacations and summer events translate into low attendance. In consideration is canceling July and August meetings. The August meeting would be replaced by the almost annual get together at Gloria and Kathleen’s home. Members are encouraged to use the e-list for discussion of this topic.

The meal for May was discussed. Diane Brennan suggested ordering carry out pizza. The e-list can be used for any other thoughts on the meal.

Kathleen moved we adjourn; it was seconded by Penny. The meeting was adjourned.

Minutes respectfully submitted by Kathleen Fenton

[Last Laugh]
HUMOUR IN THE UNIFORM

IN HEELS as well! Yeah. Yes, I'm a professional transvestite so I can run about in heels and not fall over, ‘cause, you know, if women fall over wearing heels, that's embarrassing; but if a bloke falls over wearing heels, then you have to kill yourself! It’s the end of your life, it's quite difficult.

Thanks once more to our loyal La Femme Silhouette readers. We appreciate your continued interest. Send your newsletter comments to: Elaine

This newsletter is copyright 1998-2005 by The Alpha Omega Society. All rights reserved. Articles and information contained in this newsletter may be reprinted by other non-profit crossdresser organizations with advance permission of the author AND provided a copy of the issue containing the reprinted material is sent to Alpha Omega within two months after the material is published and proper credit is given to author and source. The opinions or statements contained in this newsletter are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of Alpha Omega.

Contributions of articles are welcomed, but may be altered in the editing process, with the author’s intent retained, or may be rejected, whether solicited or not. Absolutely no sexually explicit material may be accepted or printed.

Alpha Omega is a non-profit social support group for heterosexual crossdressers and their wives or partners. Also, members from related organizations, helping professionals, and approved guests are welcome when cleared through Alpha Omega’s officers.

Meetings are the second Saturday evening of each month unless a special event is scheduled that takes the place of the regularly scheduled meeting. The location of the meeting or event is only released to members or others with the approval of an officer. Members and visitors must be 18 years of age or older.

We will exchange newsletters with any other similar group. Send all correspondence to Alpha Omega, P.O. Box 2053, Sheffield Lake, OH 44054.