The conference is the longest running conference in the U.S. and it runs from Sunday to Sunday on the third weekend in October right after Women's Week and before Bear Week! They have workshops and a keynote talk during the day and at night they have a fashion show, follies, and a banquet.
Showing posts with label Fantasia Fair. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Fantasia Fair. Show all posts
Monday, October 20, 2025
Mini-Post: Trans Week
Trans Week (Formally Fantasia Fair) began yesterday and the first workshops are today, I'm at the Keynote talk by a friend, Dr. Carolyn Wolf-Gould, she is the founder of The Gender Wellness Center at Susquehanna Family Practice, She and her husband own a cottage a little ways form my cottage on the Cape.
Sunday, October 27, 2024
Day 8 Transweek. The Party’s Over!
Everyone packing up heading back to their homes, for me the name of one workshop is very fitting; “Lost in the Provincetown Fog”, or as used to be called “Lost in the Pink Fog.”
The thing is, it is true!
Lost in the Provincetown Fog
You finally made it to Provincetown, and TransWeek was the most fabulous experience of your life. You’re pumped up, full of new self-confidence, and unable to think about anything but expressing yourself in your preferred gender role. Back at home, the world seems drab and you chafe at having to hide part of yourself from your family, friends, and co-workers. You want to burst forth, heedless of consequences, and proclaim yourself to the world, and you think you just might. Congratulations. You’re in the Provincetown Fog. The fog is the state of euphoria we experience when we take our gender expression to a new level. It’s a dangerous time to make decisions, and yet a time when we most want to. Come talk about the Provincetown Fog with your peers and get suggestions on how to find your way out of it. Highly recommended for first timers.
Last's night Awards Banquet...
The food was very good. I sat at a table of ten, there were a few people who I knew but now I have new friends (It turns out that one of the doctors at the conference has a cottage on the next street over in Wellfleet and another lives in Truro. But best of all I got some names for a plumber and a lawn care person.
My only minor complaint were the music was too loud (Just like at weddings people want to talk to each out and they can't hear them because of the loud music.) my favorite word last night was "What?" and the hors d'oeuvres. Our table of ten had about 20 mushroom hors d'oeuvres and only 5 bacon wrapped scallops.
But I understand because of complications with their regular banquet facilities being temporarily closed they had to scramble to find a new place for the banquet.
I remember one year at Awards Banquet that was at Michael Shays, it was before I came out and hadn't transitioned yet. It was another buffet at the restaurant as I was in line for the food I heard a table behind us saying... "It is going to be a beautiful day for flying tomorrow!"
Whoa I recognized that voice! I know him since second grade! I slowly glanced over there and ... OMG! It is the hang glider club! Not only we he there but also his wife and a half a dozen people for the hang glider club in Connecticut that I knew from my days when I hang glided! I panicked and freaked out all night.
Later when I came out I asked them about that night... no one remembered it. And later after I had transitioned I was at a Fourth of July party with them... well it didn't go well. Nothing negative just that now I was an outsider.
Saturday, October 26, 2024
Day 7: Transweek
Today a couple from Connecticut came up to look over the conference, her wife had never been to the Cape and my friend is trans wanted to see what the conference was like.
We ate lunch at Tin Pan Alley again and I just had a bowl of Tomato Bisque soup, I declined the Cheese sandwich that went with it. I didn’t want to fill up on lunch because tonight is the Awards Banquet with a buffet at Montano's Restaurant.
The keynote was excellent and given by Shannon Minter
From his perspective as a transgender rights litigator for the past thirty years, Shannon will talk about the enormous progress made in securing social and legal protections in the past, the setbacks and dangers we face in the present, and the great promise and perils of the future.In case you don’t recognize the reference, “Never Let Me Go” is the name of a wonderful novel about clones by Kazuo Ishiguro. Their great struggle, like ours, is to be seen and treated as real people. Oh, and facing their inevitable mortality!
Shannon bio is…
Shannon Minter has made significant contributions to the advancement of LGBTQ rights in his role as Vice President of Legal for the National Center for Lesbian Rights. He has been pivotal in key legal battles, including the California marriage equality case and the Christian Legal Society v. Martinez Supreme Court decision. His work has earned him numerous accolades, including California Lawyer of the Year and recognition from the National Gay and Lesbian Bar Association. Minter’s dedication to legal advocacy continues to impact the LGBTQ community and the broader fight for equal rights.Shannon is the Transgender Pioneer Award recipient for 2024. A more in-depth biography can be found on page 45 earlier in the guide.
He is hopefully optimistic on the current case before the Supreme Court, the ACLU writes,
Case: L.W. v. Skrmetti/U.S. v. SkrmettiOctober 18, 2024The Supreme Court has scheduled oral arguments in U.S. v. Skrmetti, a challenge brought by transgender youth and their families to a Tennessee law banning gender-affirming medical care, for December 4, 2024.The case was first filed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the ACLU of Tennessee, Lambda Legal, and Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP on behalf of Samantha and Brian Williams of Nashville and their 16-year-old transgender daughter, two other plaintiff families filing anonymously, and Memphis-based medical doctor Dr. Susan Lacy. The plaintiff families and Dr. Lacy argue that the law violates the equal protection rights of transgender adolescents. The United States intervened also arguing that the Tennessee law violates the Equal Protection Clause.In June 2024, the Supreme Court granted a cert petition filed in the case by the United States and a petition for split argument time between the U.S. Solicitor General and an attorney representing transgender youth and their families is pending before the Court. The transgender youth and their families remain parties to the case.
Shannon said that looking at the past case he is hopefully optimistic because of the case of R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes Inc. v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission where the court found in favor of the trans woman based on Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964,
Title VII prohibits employers from discriminating against any individual “because of such individual’s race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.” Looking to the ordinary public meaning of each word and phrase comprising that provision, the Court interpreted to mean that an employer violates Title VII when it intentionally fires an individual employee based, at least in part, on sex. Discrimination on the basis of homosexuality or transgender status requires an employer to intentionally treat employees differently because of their sex—the very practice Title VII prohibits in all manifestations. Although it acknowledged that few in 1964 would have expected Title VII to apply to discrimination against homosexual and transgender persons, the Court gave no weight to legislative history because the language of the statute unambiguously prohibits the discriminatory practice.
And also the Grimm v. Gloucester County School Board where the court ruled the school acted illegally in denying him to use the boys bathroom.
Those two cases give him hope on the outcome of L.W. v. Skrmetti/U.S. v. Skrmetti but if we lose it would be disaster for us!
Tonight is the Award Banquet and I’ll write about it tommow.
Friday, October 25, 2024
Day 6: Transweek
Today was a full day for me, lunch was at one of my favor restaurant Tin Pan Ally… good food at a good price and if the weather is nice they have a patio if the weather is nice like it was yesterday, today it was a little cool to sit out side. I had five cheese Mac & Cheese.
I got to Wave Bar early so I sat outside in the sun, the breeze was a little cool but the sun made up for it. The Keynote was by, Jamison Green
The state of the transgender community is fractured, our legal protections are threatened, and our healthcare is under attack. What do we do now? Author/activist Jamison Green has a message of hope and commitment. Jamison is a writer, educator, policy consultant, and former president of the World Professional Association for Transgender Health, FTM International, and Gender Education & Advocacy, Inc. Among many honors, he received the Fantasia Fair Pioneer Award in 2014.
Excellent! A lot of questions from the audience and I mentioned seniors as being my current focus.
*****
Where I live there is a large brush fire and it is in its fifth day burning over 800 as of this morning hundred acres.
Wednesday, October 23, 2024
Day 4 Transweek
Tin Pan Ally and Mariette Pathy Allen.
I had lunch at Tin Pan Ally, one of my favorite restaurant… I had a monster hamburger that I ate without the roll. I sat at a table with a few Transweek attendees, one had been coming longer than I have.
The Keynote…
I’ve known her since the early 2000s and have a number of autographed copies of her books.
Each year when I register I always chuckle to myself when I get to the questions about photos. I chuckle because my picture and my name is out there on the web probably.
I’ve been on PBS “Where We Live!” all the local network affiliate Sunday morning talking heads shows, including Fox 61. I’ve been on the news for local issues like when we were trying to pass different laws. I remember being interviewed on a protest line when we were protesting DCF putting a trans girl in to the boys prison.
So when it come to checking the box in the registration, that’s why I chuckle.
I had lunch at Tin Pan Ally, one of my favorite restaurant… I had a monster hamburger that I ate without the roll. I sat at a table with a few Transweek attendees, one had been coming longer than I have.
The Keynote…
From her website,The Trans Community Since 1978: A Slideshow
Mariette Pathy AllenMariette’s ongoing photographic work focuses on the intimacy, joy, and heartache of transgender and gender-expansive communities across the globe. Her earlier work, which began in 1978, offered images of relatable people instead of the freakish and sensationalistic. Mariette will share her work and discuss her latest book, I Was The Girl: Art by Vicky West, which focuses on the life and art of Vicky West, who served as art director of Drag Magazine in the 1970s and 80s and was Mariette’s introduction and mentor in the trans community.
Mariette Pathy Allen is a photographer of transgender, genderfluid, and gender variant communities, as well as other continuous series such as Birth and Families, The Face of New Jersey, People With Art, Flowers and Fantasy, Texas, and Scapes. In 1978, on the last day of Mardi Gras in New Orleans, Allen met Vicky West, a trans woman she befriended and through whom she was first invited to Fantasia Fair, a transgender conference where she would serve as official photographer. She traveled across the US to many other transgender conferences, participated in political activism, and worked for the Transgender Tapestry magazine. She continues to pursue the work of photographing, interviewing, and advocating on behalf of gender-nonconforming people.
Each year when I register I always chuckle to myself when I get to the questions about photos. I chuckle because my picture and my name is out there on the web probably.
I’ve been on PBS “Where We Live!” all the local network affiliate Sunday morning talking heads shows, including Fox 61. I’ve been on the news for local issues like when we were trying to pass different laws. I remember being interviewed on a protest line when we were protesting DCF putting a trans girl in to the boys prison.
So when it come to checking the box in the registration, that’s why I chuckle.
Tuesday, October 22, 2024
Day 3 Transweek
I am mixed on calling it transweek because women’s week the week before transweek… all the nightclubs have shows with lesbian comedians, have free events all around town and that the goes for all the other “weeks” in town. After us is a Bear weekend! Then the last weekend of Transweek is Roundup and in November there is a Leather weekend. But Transweek is just the conference.
So today I only went to the Keynote talk, which was on trans healthcare.
For lunch I went to the Post Office… no not that post office but rather a cabaret, the food was very good. I had a western omelet with home fries.
Walking down the street, overheard conversation of a couple walking out of a store. The husband was talking to his wife about trans people walking in the street.
Husband to wife, “...They’re disgusting! How can they let people out in public like that!”
Wife to husband, “they should have warned us when we made the reservations!…”
My thought was why? Are they harming anyone? And what did you expect when you took a trip to the “Gay Inc.”?
So today I only went to the Keynote talk, which was on trans healthcare.
Return to the Gender-Fluid RapidsI first met Sirena back many moons ago, maybe ten years ago? She gave a good talk today about the Binary but for me that was old hat, for the new people I think that they learned a lot.
Sirena Rivera, MD
Being transgender means something different to different people, but where in our community do you fit in? Being a dual-gender person can make it tough to find your place in our community. Some find comfort in being both male and female, and changing external presentation when or if possible. Others view themselves beyond gender labels and see themselves as gender-fluid and/or non-binary. Some who live dual-gender lives can’t or choose to not transition, so what options exist out there? If you have a spouse or intimate partner, what are their feelings about all this and trying their best to love and support you? Let’s discuss what it can mean to live in a body that doesn’t make room for more than one gender.
For lunch I went to the Post Office… no not that post office but rather a cabaret, the food was very good. I had a western omelet with home fries.
Walking down the street, overheard conversation of a couple walking out of a store. The husband was talking to his wife about trans people walking in the street.
Husband to wife, “...They’re disgusting! How can they let people out in public like that!”
Wife to husband, “they should have warned us when we made the reservations!…”
My thought was why? Are they harming anyone? And what did you expect when you took a trip to the “Gay Inc.”?
Monday, October 21, 2024
Day 2: Transweek Formerly Fantasia Fair
I went to the keynote talk by Dallas Denny… excellent!
And that was followed by a workshop given by Vanessa Edwards Foster and Dennise Norris also excellent!
Keynote:
Dallas DennyBefore the mid-1990s, the vocabulary we used to describe and identify ourselves was limited and the world expected us and we expected ourselves to fit into one of only a few rigidly defined gender boxes. Those most readily available were crossdresser, transsexual, and drag queen or king. Once we selected or were forced into a box, expectations were placed upon our identifies and behavior even by our peers. Other identities, like androgyne, were available but rarely used. As the turn of the century approached, however, something happened: constraints that kept crossdressers and transsexuals apart and separated both those categories from drag queen were removed. As we began to talk to one another we realized we all had much in common and that many of us didn’t fit comfortably into those boxes. As a result, we began to explore new identities and terms and stopped requiring ourselves to fit the stereotypes to which we had been assigned. The result is the splendor of gender we see today. Come, and we’ll talk about our new identities and our new options.
Workshop:
Vanessa Edwards Foster, et al.Each presenter will cover their varying perspectives of their political/activist affiliations through the years, covering the inception of Trans activism and advocacy, as well as the beginnings of Trans media coverage.
They covered a lot of stuff that I knew about but to hear it from the people who were the ones doing it is priceless!
I was going to bow out of the awards dinner Saturday but then I found out where it was going to be… Montano’s Restaurant. The food was good at the Crown & Anchor but it wasn’t… well it was a nightclub not a restaurant. Now this is a restaurant! I only ate once at Montano’s but it was very good so it should be interested to see when they give out the awards. Before the meal? During or after the meal I hope so. Because I want to split right after the meal, as those who follow my blog know that I’m not a big fan about driving at night.
Sunday, October 20, 2024
Day Number 1: TransWeek (AKA Fantasia Fair)
Opening Night Meet & Greet ReceptionPlanning CommitteeAfter a long day of travel, relax with your old friends and meet your new friends . Come dressed formally, come dressed casually, come dressed as a guy, or come dressed as a girl, or your gender-nonconforming self—just come by and enjoy yourself! For more information, please see the event earlier in this guide on page 24.
My only concern is that it is at night and I am not a big fan of driving after dark.
FanFair 2000 (From my diary).
October 26thThe Fantasia Fair -Tuesday Oct 17th 11:45 p.mFeeling good ( a little to many rum & cokes ) had a great time. We arrived around two o’clock and move into our room. We then went down into town to have lunch at the “Stormy Harbor”. It was a trip to watch the tourist watching us. I was very nervous at first but I got over it and started to enjoy myself. After lunch we went to the Provincetown Reservations to sign up for the weeks entertainment. We signed up for all of the evening shows and the Banquet on Saturday night. We then walked around town and checked out the stores. It was fun watching the tourist when they figured out that we were guys, the expressions that they had on their faces. They were mostly seniors who came in for the day on busses.That night we went to see the Jill Richard’s Cabaret show at the Vixen lounge. She is a transgendered performer from Vancouver B. C., she gave a good performance, but it was only about an hour long, not the two promised. We then shot some pool and had a few drinks. Then we went to another night club, but it was smoky and had loud music, so I left and called it a night.
Sunday, August 18, 2024
Life On A Sandbar
From Sleepy Little Fishing Village to insanity. Somewhere around 3000 people live 60 miles out in the Atlantic but that mild mannered town turns insane ever August when it gets invaded with up to 150,000 people! Yes, you read that right! 150,000 people!
Can you imagine what it is like with over 100,000 people packed into the small village? I wrote about here… Rio Has One.
I had no idea in what I was going to, I knew that it would be crowded but not that crowded! I planned on taking the bus because bus fare was only a dollar and parking would be $$$. So I took the bus from the Dunkin Donuts in Wellfleet, when I got to the parking lot there were about ten people there… that was unusual normally no one else is there. When the bus arrived it was half full and by the time we arrived in P’town it was standing room only!As we pulled in the bus parking on McMillian Pier the town was hopping! I firsts noticed cars parked along Rt. 6 in Truro, I have never seen that many cars parked on Rt. 6. As we got closer to Conwell St. there were pedestrians everywhere, and police everywhere. We were the last bus in to McMillian Pier the town was closing down for cars. The only street with cars was Bradford St and even that was insane with pedestrians. I made my way to the Town Hall and staked out a claim to corner of Ryder and Commercial Streets. It was a brutal 90+ degrees in the sun and I was in the shade but still melting.Queer Voices wrote…Provincetown, Massachusetts, is gay, gay, gay. Its population is approximately 3,000, but the LGBTQ+ getaway sanctuary has more than 80 bed and breakfasts, inns, and guesthouses; more than 10 gay bars and clubs, two gay beaches, and hosts a dozen or more queer events throughout the year. This year, more than 24 LGBTQ+ events are on the schedule. Photos: Provincetown Tourism[…]46th Annual Provincetown Carnival: Renaissance X RevolutionAugust 17-24Carnival – created by the Provincetown Business Guild in 1978 – is Ptown’s original summer celebration of community, expression, and creativity. The week-long festival attracts thousands of worldwide guests who enjoy parties, performances, costume contests, and the celebrated Carnival parade. This year’s Carnival Parade will roll down Commercial Street Aug. 22. The theme is Renaissance + Revolution.I attended it once and as they say, once is enough.
But Carnival is not the only event in P'town, just about every week there is something going on.
Women’s WeekOct. 14- 20Women’s Week, celebrating its 40th year, has grown into a festival with more than 300 events that attract some of the most talented performers in the LGBTQ+ scene from across the world and the local community.Trans Week – The Original Fantasia FairOct. 20 – 27This year marks the 50th anniversary of Trans Week, which blends a learning experience with a social gathering and reunion. Trans Week is a complete immersion experience. Attendees can, and usually do spend, an entire week presenting their gender as they identify.
I'm away to a cookout this weekend at a couple's house in Haverhill... so you have canned articles.
I'm bring Shotgun Shells for appetizers.
Sunday, October 15, 2023
Trans Week (AKA Fantasia Fair)
I have attended just about every year since 2000 and the fair has changed since I attended, back then there were a lot more variety in workshops. They had a lot more informative workshops that cover a variety workshop. They had back in 2006…
- A Namoli Brennet concert.
- A seminar given by Richard Docter Ph.D.
- A seminar called “The Politics of Passing”
- A seminar on Christine Jorgensen
- A workshop For the Birds; Brenda Viola with a visit to the Mass Audubon Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary
- A workshop “Inside Issues! Prostate Cancer in Transgender People”
- A workshop “Transgenderism & Gender Diversity In America”
In 2011…
- A Keynote address by Monica Helms
- A dune tour
- A Keynote “Beyond the Brain: Your Ideas About Motivations and Rewards”
- A workshop “Enjoying Transgender Fiction”
Now… As I see it, the fair is mainly about couples.
I tried to give other workshops… on activism and one on photograph but they were only attended by two or three people. I suggested a workshop on trans seniors, getting seniors center to have programs for LGBTQ+ seniors but it got a lukewarm reception. So I’m giving up.
Another thing, most of the long time friends who used to come are not coming anymore. They are mostly strangers now.
When they get more variety and diversity in workshops I’ll be back. But it just seems like a rehash of the same ol', same ol' workshops for couples.
Don't get me wrong, Trans Week as it is now called is great for some who never went before or just coming out, but for a long time attendee the newness has worn out.
Sunday, October 23, 2022
Fantasia Fair Day 7 - Saturday
Today is the last day of Fantasia Fair and last night was the Banquet, I debated whether I would go to the banquet or not. It was past my bedtime and for me driving at night is now a challenge, so I left during the awards.
But first lunch.
I had lunch at the Crown and Anchor and they had pasta and shrimp a buffet. One thing that I noticed was that they were loading up their plates with the shrimp and taking very little pasta. Another thing that I noticed was that it was very spicy, not overboard but borderline spicy.
I was thinking about going to the Town Hall Meeting: Community Responses to Anti-Trans Legislation and Policies workshop but I decided if I want to attend the banquet that I need to nap this afternoon.
At the Banquet looking around you can tell the crossdressers from those who have transitioned… just look at their footwear. It is a generality but it seems like most of those in stilettos 3” heels and above are crossdressers and those in flats have transitioned, you see some of the spouses are wearing stilettos but most are wearing sensible heels.
Me? I wore sneakers with a dress and a sweater And pantyhose! ...good lord it has been years since I wore pantyhose. COVID (or as I like to say "the plague") put a crimp in banquets and semi formal events. But there is an in-person meeting of the Governor's Advisory Council meeting in November so that will be business professional dress).
My guest left for Connecticut Friday morning with sniffs, a cough, and a runny nose (I got my fingers crossed) and I’m heading back to Connecticut on the 6th or 7th to vote and then back up here the following week until Thanksgiving.
~~~~~~~~
So at the beginning of the Fair I said over the years that the Fair has changed and I think one of the things that has changed over the years is that the fair is more concentrated. Workshops were held at several restaurants around town, for an example a workshop was held at Nappies and a night club called Vixens, so you had to walk around more in town.
One other change is where the banquet is held, it used to be held at different restaurants around town including the Provincetown Inn. They were all good except one restaurant, they had use packed in like sardines. They overstated the size of the banquet they could have, one positive for the place had a fire pit where you could escape the mob. I imagine having it in one or two places saves money, they probably get a discount for holding all the workshops in one building, same for having it at one restaurant.
Another thing that has changed is they had dune tours, whale watching excursions, and they had a trip to a winery.
Then there are the type of workshops, there were more variety, now over half of the workshops are for couples. Back then they had a transition track where there were workshops on transitioning. Maybe they fear chasing away the spouses with too many workshops on transitioning. They had workshops on wig care and styling, and makeup, they had a few this year but not as many in the past. In addition I saw that they had a workshop on Macramé, trans history in the movies, a workshop on activism (Town Hall Meeting: Community Responses to Anti-Trans Legislation and Policies), and a workshop on photography.
Also I have changed, the fair to me is more of a social event, meeting old friends and making new friends, but it is starting to get old. A lot of old friends have stop coming and the workshops are becoming old hat, what would keep me coming is stuff like dune tours, whale watching (But many of the whales have turned into snowbirds and headed toward warmer waters.), trans history workshops, and other workshops that are not trans related (Hmm... maybe a discussion of trans in science fiction.).
Lastly, there are more guys here, they are attracting more trans masculine fair goers.
P.S. When the fair started this year I couldn't walk far without getting winded, I noticed that I could walk father without getting winded by the end of the fair.
~~~~~~~~
From my 2000 diary.
Sunday October 22nd
All good thing must come to an end. We packed up, had breakfast, said our good-byes and headed back to Connecticut. I had an excellent time. Would I go back, YES!
***********************************************
October 28th
It has been six days since the Fantasia Fair. Some thoughts on the week, it was hard, well not hard but different, going back to work. I was walking down the hall at work when somebody called “Diana”, for one of our secretaries, I almost stopped and replied. Also, up in P’town I got use to carrying a pocketbook, now I start to look for it when I get up. It was total girl mode, the only male thing that I did was shave. You get deeper girl mode and it does effect your psyche. I liked it.
2022 Fantasia Fair (Trans Week)
Saturday, October 22, 2022
Fantasia Fair Day 6 -- Friday
Friday's Keynote was by Mason Dunn. If you remember he was the Executive Director of the Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition, my contemporary in Massachusetts and he is now the Deputy Director of Education and Training Programs at the Fenway Institute.
He covered local and national trans activism and he covered not only the bad but also the good that is happening around Massachusetts but also New England and the nation. I learned a few new things but mostly I knew about what he was talking about, one of the topics he covered was about the Connecticut federal case on trans sports. I filed an Amicus Curiae brief in the court case with PFLAG.
Plus after the Keynote I stayed and talked to some friends, the Fair is not just about workshops, dinners, and nightly entertainment but also seeing old friends and networking.
~~~~~~~
My diary from the 2000 fair,
October 12th
It’s getting closer to the Fantasia Fair, but as it does I have to lie to Mom and Dad and I hate it! I don’t really like it and I might not go to another event, this make me feel so bad lying to them. This is really downer. It’s because I didn’t have to come up with complicated lies, only just smoke it. This on the other hand evolves two lies, one at work - I’m going up to my brothers to help on his house and the other for family - I’m going to a computer show in Boston. Well, where in Boston , who’s going, what are you going to see, how do we get in touch with you, etc. etc…. “Oh, what a tangle web we weave when at first we do deceive… “ or however Shakespeare said it.
October 17th
An other white lie last night, Rick called an asked about my trip to Boston. I’m torn between wanting to go to Provincetown, but I hate all these lies. I have to think of a way to at least come out of the closet to Rick and Donna, but I worry about the consequence.
I’m off to P’town, I made the commitment, so now I have to live with the out come. Hopefully no more lies and that I will have a good time there and not worrying about Mom and Dad finding out.
It was always a problem for me before I came out how to tell my parents and my brother where I was going for the weekend. I invented little white lies, my parents and brother I told them I was going to a computer conference and at work to help my brother paint his condo.
2022 Fantasia Fair (Trans Week)
Friday, October 21, 2022
Fantasia Fair Day 5 – Thursday
Yikes!
The fair is almost over! Just two more days and a wake-up.
The only thing that is on my agenda for today is the Keynote Address, it is right up my alley, the topic was "End of Life Issues for Transgender People." Let's face it was are all getting older and it sure beats the alternative of pushing up daises. Those who know me know that I am involved in many LGBTQ groups on aging including legislation, senior healthcare facilities, and make senior centers more culturally aware of the needs of the LGBTQ communities.
~~~~~~~
Today was excellent!
When I walked in to the Tin Pan Ally for lunch there fair goes at a couple tables scattered around the restaurant I looked around for an open table and there were a couple and there was an open seat at the table where Jude Patton was sitting. Since I wanted to talk to I joined him and his wife, and another person at the table. We talked about our activism on aging and I talked about the Moveable Seniors Centers and then traded contact information.
Then afterwards I went to the Keynote talk which was given by Jude and I learned that he is the author of two book on aging, TRANScestors Navigating LGBTQ+ Aging, Illness and End of Life Decisions: Generations of Hope and TRANScestors: Navigating LGBTQ+ Aging, Illness, and End of Life Decisions: Generations of Change. Yesterday I found out that Version 8 of the standard of care includes senior;
The population of aging/older TGD persons who need to be served by institutions is increasing (Carroll, 2017; Witten & Eyler, 2016). Many long-term care and other facilities catering to the needs of the aging need to take into consideration the needs of their non-cisgender residents (Ettner, 2016; Ettner & Wiley, 2016).[…]A survey of retirement and residential care providers in Australia found little experience with or understanding of the issues facing this population. Indeed, many elderly TGD residents admitted to concealing their gender identity, bowing to the fear of insensitive treatment or frank discrimination (Cartwright et al., 2012; Cook-Daniels, 2016; Grant et al., 2012; Horner et al., 2012; Orel & Fruhauf, 2015).
So all in all it was a very productive day.
Note: Tomorrow's post on Fantasia Fair will be at 3 PM.
~~~~~~~
From my 2004 diary...
Tuesday October 19th
Yesterday after breakfast I took a drive with D and W [It was her first time at the Fair]. She has never been to the east coast before so we drove out along the Seashore National Park so we visited Race Point walking around the beach and Visitor’s Center.
By the time we got back from the drive we missed the brunch, so they took a trip on the trolley and I got a quick bit to eat. I then went to the Noon symposium; the speaker was Susan Stryker a historian from San Francisco. I really liked the talk and there was good inter-reaction with the audience.
Among other things that she talked about was gender construct and thinking out of the box. I wish I had taking notes, because as I write this it hard to remember all of the great topics that she talked about.
For dinner they had roll-ups and afterwards Susan Stryker showed a part of a film that she is working on call "Screaming Queens" that is going to be released on PBS in the spring. She answered questions about the film about the riot at Compton’s Cafeteria in San Francisco in1966, three years before the Stonewall Riots in New York. Once again it was very informative about how she dug out the information about the riots and the interviews of the people involved.
Once it was over we went down to Chasers for drinks and to watch the Red Socks beat the Yankees.
Thursday October 21st
Another cold and windy day at Fantasia Fair, not a so great day for wigs. Mine kept on getting all snarled and it had to be combed out constantly, for every broken hair I figure it’s a nickel base on the number of hairs and the cost. So I really hate seeing a brush fill of hairs.
Anyhow, I missed my morning seminar, I thought it was in the afternoon. Oh well. At lunch I listen to a talk by M G on "Bigenderism" which was about how our society is not able to cope with the idea of a society of more than two genders. It was also another great talk and they are attracting more towns’ people to come and listen to them.
In the afternoon I went to a seminar and then rushed back to the B & B to change for dinner and the Fashion Show. For dinner we ate at an Italian restaurant on Commercial St., called "Front Street" and it was very good. I had Ravioli stuffed with Ricotta, mmmm….it was good.
The Fashion Show was good, T and J were in it, however I thought it was a little long. I thought that maybe they could have done anyway with showing the Prom Gowns after all we had the Prom last night and most of us saw them there.
Afterwards we all rushed out to watch the end of the Red Sox and Yankee’s baseball game.
Friday October 22nd
In the afternoon I went to a seminar given Helen Boyd, the author of "My Husband Betty" on writing which also was very good and I hope on applying so of the techniques that I learned here. She had us do an exercise where she asked us to think about something that we liked with the Fantasia Fair or Provincetown, then write down an adjective and then another adjective. Finally a short descriptive word or phrase and then put it all together into a sentence or paragraph. This is what I wrote; "The darken Cabrera with its spots lights shining on the stage, I could almost picture the smoke filled room from the past with the likes of Eugene O'Neill and Tennessee Williams upon the very stage performing their plays for the very first time."
2022 Fantasia Fair (Trans Week)
Thursday, October 20, 2022
Fantasia Fair Day 4 – Wednesday
~~~~~~~
I met some people new at lunch and an old friend. That is one thing nice about the fair is that you meet so many new people, for some this is there first time out and they are in seventh heaven.
The keynote address today was by Carolyn Wolf-Gould, MD whose talk was about the World Professional Association of Transgender Health (WPATH) Standard of Care Version 8. I learned a lot about the new version and it seems not to be as bad as some make it out to be, but thing I have to say about it, it is long. 260 pages!
One scary thing the doctor pointed out was that Florida is writing their own standard of care!!!!
This is from the Florida ACLU,
In June, Gov. DeSantis said that Medicaid should no longer cover gender-affirming healthcare for transgender Floridians. Today, we’re exposing the harm and impact that both this new rule from the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration and a potential change by the Florida Board of Medicine to the standards of care for gender-affirming treatment would have on transgender Floridians’ ability to access essential and life-saving healthcare. Read the headline from CBS News here: Florida moves forward on denying transgender treatments.
[…]
At a press conference June 2, Gov. Ron DeSantis said that Florida should deny Medicaid coverage for treatments such as puberty-blocking medication and hormone therapy for transgender people. The Florida Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA), which runs most of Florida’s Medicaid program, then proposed a rule that would deny coverage for all medically-necessary gender-affirming care for Medicaid recipients. That proposed rule was subsequently adopted by AHCA and went into effect on August 21, 2022.
The AHCA adopted the discriminatory Medicaid exclusion despite the evidence-based guidance from medical experts and medical associations supporting gender-affirming care. All major medical associations accept these standards of care. Medical providers have safely used these medications and treatment methods for decades for many medical conditions, including gender dysphoria. The drastic changes to Medicaid coverage are a baseless attack on lifesaving medical care in violation of federal law.
They are thumbing their nose at all the established medical associations, you know that this will end up on the door steps of the Supreme Court and it will be anybody’s guest how the court will rule.
~~~~~~~
I was just starting out attending the peer support group the Connecticut Outreach Society and at a September meeting on 2000 someone mentioned this conference on Cape Cod called Fantasia Fair... Hmm. This sounds interesting.
From my diary:
August 12th
...Second, and this is the real big one. I’m going to the Fantasia Fair week in Provincetown MA. I’m going for six days and I’m going with T, we are going to stay at B & B that she knows. There are going to be others COS members up there, but mainly for the weekend. B and S are going to give a talk on CD’s and their spouses, also host a lunch on Friday. I have to go and heckle them, should be fun.
Tuesday Oct 17, 2000
Feeling good (A little to many rum & cokes) had a great time. We arrived around two o’clock and move into our room. We then went down into town to have lunch at the “Stormy Harbor” [Now it is gone and another restaurant has filled it space.]. It was a trip to watch the tourist watching us. I was very nervous at first but I got over it and started to enjoy myself. After lunch we went to the Provincetown Reservations to sign up for the weeks entertainment. We signed up for all of the evening shows and the Banquet on Saturday night. We then walked around town and checked out the stores. It was fun watching the tourist when they figured out that we were guys, the expressions that they had on their faces. They were mostly seniors who came in for the day on busses.
[...]
We went to the fashion show that night at the Vixen. On the way to the show it poured, I was dressed in a skirt and twin set, lucky I had an umbrella. This time the show lasted longer then the cabaret. J and her friends were thereafter the show and we hung around the bar for a while. T meet some of her friends from last year. We left around midnight.
Back in the day when midnight was just another hour on the clock, Now I'm lucky to make it past 9.
For dinner we all went to the Governor Bradford and had a nice meal. For dinner we all went to the Governor Bradford and had a nice meal.
After dinner we walked to the Universalist Church for a concert. It was a piano and cello concert and the pianist is well renown and teaches at the New York University School of Music and the Manhattan School of Music and has presented master classes at the Boston and Peabody Conservatories. She is also a transsexual. After the concert we went to the Vixen for cocktails.
Also back then I could drink more than I do now... age is catching up on me.
Friday
We had dinner at the “Lobster Pot”. It was crowded but the food was very good, I had Lobster Newburg. On the way out two couples were coming in, when the guys saw us they stopped in their tracks and their jaws just about hit the ground.
The Follies were good except for the sound system. B and S and J did a number called “If You Read My Mind”, they brought the house to a standing ovation. In the second act B and S did the closing number “Love Can Build a Bridge”.
Saturday
The Banquet was so so, they gave out a lot of awards to people who worked on Fantasia Fair. B and S and J were there with their friends from the fair staff. After dinner we went over to Roomers for a little while, Roomers is Guest House. T went off to another place and stayed for a while, then went back to the room. At Roomers I met a couple from around Connecticut area. It will have been nice if I found the place earlier, it was a quite place to sit around and talk. No smoking or loud music.
Sunday
All good thing must come to an end. We packed up, had breakfast, said our good-byes and headed back to Connecticut. I had an excellent time. Would I go back, YES.
***********************************************
October 28th
It has been six days since the Fantasia Fair. Some thoughts on the week, it was hard, well not hard but different, going back to work. I was walking down the hall at work when somebody called “Diana”, for one of our secretaries, I almost stopped and replied. Also, up in P’town I got use to carrying a pocketbook, now I start to look for it when I get up. It was total girl mode, the only male thing that I did was shave. You get deeper girl mode and it does effect your psyche. I liked it.
A lot has changed, a lot has stayed the same.
2022 Fantasia Fair (Trans Week)
Wednesday, October 19, 2022
Fantasia Fair Day 3 – Tuesday
We had heavy rain overnight and I woke up to a windy overcast sky, made breakfast and did a rehearsal for the presentation tomorrow morning for a class in public heath at Southern Connecticut State University and I straighten out the cottage because a friend is coming up to go to Fantasia Fair.
Today’s lunch is at the Post Office… no, no, no. Not that post office but a restaurant in Provincetown, Post Office Café, it is under new ownership.
Then the Keynote address which is the presentation of the Pioneer Award (Jude Patton and Rupert Raj), grocery shopping, and then head back to the cottage. And tonight's entertainment is Comic Bingo Festival which I don't think that I will go to (I'm officially a senior citizen because I have played bingo at a senior center.).
***
I stopped at The Post Office (I now have a PO Box up here) on the way to P'town for lunch at the Post Office. Nothing much has changed at the Post Office Café still good food (I had the meatloaf w/home fries for which they are known for.). I sat with two other attendees who I didn't know and one of them reads my blog, "You look familiar? Do you write a blog?" Guilty as charged.
Then I went to the keynote address after lunch, it was the presentation of the Pioneer Award and it went to Rupert Raj a Canadian activist who is retired and living in Spain.
I stopped by the Stop & Shop on the way home to get food for breakfast and for Thursday's night dinner, spaghetti and meatballs & sausages.
I decided not to go to the bingo and I didn't make it past 9 before going to bed to write this.
~~~~~~~
One time we came up early on a Saturday, the tail end of Women’s Week and half the B&B were women, there was a group of them who came from the mid-west.
The B&B always puts out a couple of bottles of wine with cheese and crackers, so one side of the table were the lesbians and on the other side were us. And nary a word was said was said between them… until… until the topic of coming out was mentioned.
Somehow the bottles that B&B put out became dead soldiers and a few of us made runs to our rooms and came back with more wine and snacks.
The party broke up, the lesbians were getting hungry and we had an opening night wine and cheese party (Just what we needed, more wine.). So each group went to find the entertainment for the night.
When the opening night party broke up at the Crowne Pointe we went down the hill to Commercial St and started walking back to the B&B and guess who we bumped into coming out of bar? The lesbians!
They were also going back to the B&B, once we got there the women asked us to join them in the hot tub.
So we all were having a great old time in the tub together when BANG, BANG, BANG on the gate door… POLICE!
Whoa!
A woman officers came in and said do you know what time it is? Its one o’clock! And the neighbors are complaining.
I decided to split to my room.
In the morning there were a lot of blood shot eye and hangovers. Sitting around the table drinking coffee like there was no tomorrow, the owners came in and slammed the door behind them which cause a lot of moans. They said, "And why were the police here early this morning?"
They were heading back to the Chicago area that day, before they left we took a group photo.
2022 Fantasia Fair (Trans Week)
Tuesday, October 18, 2022
Fantasia Fair Day 2 – Monday
I started the morning off reviewing and touching up my presentation that I’m giving to a class Wednesday morning. I then emailed it to the professor to hang out to the students and she sent my the Zoom link.
~~~~~~~
The morning was brunch and orientation which I skipped, I been to about ten of them and there is nothing new in them and the brunch is too late in the day, I finished my breakfast a the cottage by 7:30.
In the afternoon I did attend a workshop on photo editing and the presenter knew her stuff but had a slow computer however she kept the conversation going while her computer
I was planning on attending the buffet and dancing event tonight but there are showers passing through tonight and one thing with getting old is night driving. If it wasn’t rain driving home in the dark wouldn’t be a major problem but couple that with a wet road and a wet windshield making it a definite no. The glare would be too much with cataracts.
2022 Fantasia Fair (Trans Week)
Monday, October 17, 2022
Fantasia Fair Day 1 -- Sunday
At night I skipped the Opening Night Welcome Reception that started at 7:30, because of a credit card problem.
Provincetown in their infinite wisdom is now going to an app to pay for parking and... and it was linked to a spammer!
I have had two fraudulent charges come through on my credit card, I emailed the town Parking Administrator telling them what happened. The fraudsters had the email that I used on the app and the password that I used on the app in their email.
So that s**ked, hopefully my new credit card is in the mail because I will have to stay on the Cape until I get the new card.Purchase Confirmation
To: AAAAAAAAAA@yahoo.com
Sun, Oct 16 at 2:33 PM
2022-10-16
Dear u1836060,
Congratulations new member, you now have free access to tudum.co for 5 days!
Your account credentials:
Username: u1836060
Password: PPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP
Your Invoice details:
Invoice ID: 11069046, Card: CITIBANK N.A. XXXXXXXXXXXXNNNN
For any questions or concerns with your membership please visit tudum.co/contact
Thank you for your purchase!
Tomorrow is the Kick Off Brunch which I skip, I usually eat breakfast around 6 not 8:30 but I want to attend Photo Tweaking workshop.
2022 Fantasia Fair (Trans Week)
Sunday, October 16, 2022
Fantasia Fair Day 0
This is something like my twentieth conference and every year I scratch my head and wonder why I attend and I guest it is more out of habit, the fair has morphed from what it was back in 2000. Back then they had a wide selection of workshops and now it seems to be only workshops for couples or those who are married and alone in “Paradise.”
Anyhow, I got a pocket full of quarters to feed the meter in front of the Boatslip so I can run in and register for the conference and I will have to make my way thought the Wellfleet Oyster Festival which is ending up today.
2022 Fantasia Fair (Trans Week)
Sunday, October 24, 2021
Fantasia Fair Day 6 (Ignore the other Day 6, its fake!)
On the way back to the car I spied on of those Terracotta strawberry pot planter and it had plants that were still producing strawberries, there was one ripe berry, a couple semi-red berries, and a number of green berries. What a strange fall it has been, the leaves on the Cape haven’t started to change yet.
Rats! And double Rats!
I thought that Transgender Pioneer Award Presentation was going to at tonight's award banquet but it wasn’t it was at the noon Keynote… I wanted to see that! Normal they have a the Transgender Pioneer Award Dinner Monday night, they discombobulated me.
I went home after my workshop because I had a lousy night sleep and I wanted to take a nap but that didn’t work either.
The dinner, Fantasia Fair Awards Banquet, was well the same as it always was. However, the prime rib was heavenly, the that I ever had… it melts in your mouth… good. After the awards were handed out I snuck out of the room and went to get my car, and pick up a friend to bring her to the Boatslip so she didn’t have to walk.
This morning they are having a Farewell Breakfast that I’m skipping by the time they start I would have eaten already. Instead a couple that I know is staying over from the Fair and we are going out to dinner at the Van Rensselaer's Restaurant in town.
For the Banquet I brought my red dress shown above but when I tried it on I looked like I was nine months pregnant. Well maybe next year when I lose another 10 pounds, so instead I wore a black and white skirt and a white top with low heel pumps.
I first went to FF in 2001 so this is my 20th anniversary and the Fair has changed, it used to be a mixture crossederssers and those who have transitioned but now it seems to morphed in to couples. I will say probably three quarters of the attendees are here with their spouses, so most of the workshops are geared toward them. I think that I was one of the few attendees who have transitioned.
I tried to hit the niche for those who have been coming for a long time and didn’t care for the couple workshops and were not interested in makeup workshops but that niche is not there anymore. Proving the saying "You can't go home again."
Saturday, October 23, 2021
Fantasia Fair Day 6
One of the email was from a lawyer friend from GLAD told me about a new discrimination case in Maine (More on that at the bottom of today’s post.) and I got a couple of other posts that I answered.
Since no one showed up I had a half hour to kill so I went to Herring Cove Beach in the Cape Cod National Seashore. I put the seat back, lowered the window and listened to the surf and seagulls.
Back to P’town for lunch and meet some new trans people who were at the Fair for the first time. Today’s lunch was at the Crown & Anchor, at FanFair I always go there on Friday for the fish & chips.
Well back to the cottage.
I get there a little before 2 and read my emails… YIKES! I have a zoom meeting in fifteen minutes! With the Governor’s Council on Hate Crimes! Quick clean off the table. Throw the coffee mug with a tea bag into the microwave. Go get my laptop from the bedroom. Where’s my headphone? Back to the bedroom get the headphones. Grab the mug as I run by the microwave. Open Zoom just in time for roll call… “Here your honor.” Whew!
So this morning’s email announced a discrimination case in Maine.
The complaint, filed by GLAD on behalf of a 78-year-old woman who was denied a room by Sunrise Assisted Living because she is transgender, is the first such legal claim of discrimination brought in the U.S. against a senior long-term care facility.
October 21, 2021, AUGUSTA – GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) today filed a discrimination claim with the Maine Human Rights Commission on behalf of a 78-year-old woman who was denied a room by Sunrise Assisted Living in Jonesport, Maine because she is transgender. It is the first known discrimination complaint filed in the U.S. by a transgender older adult against a long-term care facility. The complainant is being represented by GLAD attorneys Ben Klein, Chris Erchull and Mary Bonauto.
In the spring of 2021, the complainant, who is being identified publicly as Jane Doe, was admitted to Pen Bay Medical Center for an acute medical emergency. Once Ms. Doe’s health was stabilized, the medical staff determined she did not require in-patient care and needed placement in an assisted living facility. A hospital social worker contacted Sunrise Assisted Living on Ms. Doe’s behalf and was told they had rooms available. Upon learning that Ms. Doe is transgender, however, the Administrator at Sunrise informed the hospital they would not admit Ms. Doe because they were concerned she wanted to reside in a room with a female roommate, despite the fact that Sunrise regularly places women in semi-private rooms with other women.
The claim brought by GLAD on Jane Doe’s behalf asserts that Sunrise discriminated against Ms. Doe on the basis of her gender identity, transgender status, and her sex, all explicitly protected under the Maine Human Rights Act.
[…]
Being denied a room at Sunrise because she is transgender also forced Ms. Doe to remain in the hospital longer than was recommended by her medical team.”
I think that one of the key factors in the case will be that “...to remain in the hospital longer than was recommended by her medical team.”
Too bad it had to take a lawsuit to force them to do the right thing.
~~~~~
Sadly I foresee some anti-LGBTQ legal organization picking up the case to defend the long term care facility and it going to the US. Supreme Court.
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