Stephanie Marie

In my efforts to move my femme side into the mainstream, I had been looking for something, anything I could do regularly with a social group. Anything from a book club to yoga would have been sufficient. Civil War reenacting has been somewhat of a small step that will eventually become a giant leap. However certain barriers that I have detailed in past blog posts prevent me from immersing myself completely in reenacting. It is frustrating to say the least but hardly an impossible situation. Following my Bentonville outing in March, a couple of my reenacting friends invited me to something called a contra dance. I had seen pictures of them dancing on Facebook and had no idea what it was about. It seemed fun, and my friends described it as “uplifting” and “stress relieving.” The music (something between bluegrass, country, and folk) seemed pretty fun. Just what the doctor ordered I thought. My first dance was at a small community center called Pleasant Green in Durham, NC. It is quite th...

The Charlotte Gender Alliance cordially invites all to the Transgender Living Experience and Library at the LGBT Community Center the evening of Tuesday, July 21, 2009. As part of Pride Charlotte week, the Transgender Living Experience and Library will feature members from the local transgender community presenting topics related to their expertise and past experiences. Topics include transition issues, community outreach, religion, and history. Visitors will have the opportunity to browse at their leisure and “check out” each presentation with ample opportunity for questions. Special exhibits related to the transgender community will also be available for viewing and study. Doors at the LGBT Community Center open at 6:30 pm the evening of Tuesday, July 21, 2009. The Transgender Living Experience and Library will open at 7 pm with a special introduction of the presenters, topics, and exhibits. Visitors are welcome to drop in and browse anytime afterwards until 9 pm. Light refreshments ...

Evaluation is a good thing. Believe me, I have gotten much of it over the past several weeks, and most of it has been positive. Special kudos go to Christopher Graham on a positive post on his Whig Hill blog . It's one thing to read the very kind personal notes. It's another to write positively in a public blog. All the support is very much appreciated. Self-evaluation is also important. Taking a good look at yourself and deciding on areas of improvement is the one constant of the human race. In my case, improvement must come in many ways. Number one is my overall feminine impression. Number two is my knowledge and period skills. Fortunately I have numerous opportunities to work on the above. Another question that has been vexing to my transgender friends and me is the idea of kindred spirits in history. Surely, there were those throughout time that found ways to live as their true selves. History records much better the exploits of genetic women taking on traditionally male r...

During the past week as I became aware of some of the tension caused by my Bentonville visit, my recurring thought was, “All this fuss over lil ol’ me?” Really I don’t think I’m that big of a deal, but I do understand my presence and my feminine impression was disturbing to many. My goal is to be as accurate as possible in my impression. It will take some time to make all the parts and pieces fit right, and I do have more obstacles than most attempting that impression. As I stated at the end of my last post, I do feel there is a place for me in the reenacting world. As my northern supporter stated very well, one of the problems facing living history groups is that of accessibility. The entrance cost is quite high especially for women with the many layers of clothing required to come close to the period correct look. I myself had to buy a corset (which arrived this weekend from Abraham’s Lady … thank you!), a bonnet from Timely Tresses , some passable boots, and the pantalets. For someo...

Update (March 29, 2009): I generally do not accept overly negative or anonymous comments. However I thought some of my readers may find the opposing viewpoint interesting. I will have a response of sorts to post soon. Oh, the name is Stephanie Marie :) Yesterday (March 21), I attended my first reenactment in female costume at the Battle of Bentonville . It was an experience to say the least. I knew it would be an education stepping out as a transgender woman into a mainstream and somewhat conservative environment. I was shown much kindness particularly by my fellow reenactors. Many of the site visitors weren’t quite sure how to approach me. However the staff was completely supportive of me and helped in so many ways. Much like my first Ghost Walk at Latta Plantation , I will learn from where I am lacking. I spent Friday night at a hotel in Smithfield, NC. Still needing some passable boots for a Civil War era civilian woman, I ventured to the outdoor outlet mall. Most of my outings ove...

Those who live in the Charlotte area have probably seen the story of Anne Marie Clukey, a transgender women fired from her job as a maintenance worker with the City of Charlotte. Here are some of the links to the local media: Charlotte Observer WCNC News 36 Several things disturb me about this story, but the saddest part is that this is not news for many in the TG community. Everyday, even closeted crossdressers face the fear of being outed for something they may only do once a month. In this case, a transsexual woman living in stealth simply living her life had her past come back to haunt her. She was a valued employee until her manager found out she had once been a man. In the manager's eyes, that made Ms. Clukey no longer worthy of basic respect. She was passed over for promotions and eventually fired. Reading between the lines, it seems that her co-workers had accepted her long ago, and her being TS wasn't really a issue. It was only the manager who didn't know who had ...

While getting ready for the snowstorm of the century set to hit the Tar Heel state, I realized I had not updated my gaming list in a year. I wrote an unusual post about computer games that fit my feminine personality well. Note that many of my selections do not necessarily have female characters. I love Tomb Raider as much as the next person, but I do not think most buy it to admire Lara Croft's sparkling personality. I like my games to be a little deeper, a little more involved, and if it involves a pretty girl, so be it. So here's my recent list. Note that not all of these have been released in the past year. I have at least one game on my hard drive I play regularly that is twenty years old. If a game has staying power with me, then I will keep it. rFactor (2005, Image Space Incorporated) is not only one of the best PC racing games of all time. It might be the best direct download ever too. A road course racer at heart, rFactor was designed from the ground up with a mod fri...