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The monthly e-magazine of the River City Gems
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December 2009
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Join Our Email List!
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We are pleased to welcome new members Victorea & Zoila, Rikki P., Jamie P., Heidi & Monika, and Theresa K. to our River City Gems family!
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Join Us!
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Support the River City Gems by becoming a member today! As a member, you'll be entitled to a $5 discount on the door fee at all Gems events. You'll also receive a membership card, library
privileges, an entry in each month's member drawing, and even a
special card and cupcake in the month of your birthday! Most importantly, your support will enable us to continue serving the
needs of our community through social events, education, and outreach. You can join or renew your membership at any Gems event or online. |
Community Calendar
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To find out about events of interest to the transgender community in Northern California, visit our Community Calendar.
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TGSF Cotillion 2010
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TGSF Cotillion is coming February 6, 2010. It's not too early to buy your tickets online from www.tgsf.org. The River City Gems will be there!
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Greetings!
We are pleased to bring you the final issue of Facets for 2009. This month's issue features a report on how Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDOR) was observed in Sacramento and Stockton -- two of the 140+ cities that hold TDOR memorials each year. If you don't know much about this important day in the transgender calendar, here's your chance to learn what TDOR is all about. There's also Rachel M.'s coverage of the first annual River City Gems Thanksgathering, an event that is sure to be repeated in years to come. Then, hang on tight as Dianna and Chantelle take you along on their adventurous en femme road trip to Reno! And if you have never thought that a mammogram could be entertaining, don't miss Cameron G.'s article, "A First Time for Everything." For anyone who's ever had trouble zipping up the back of a dress without help, Carollyn Olson has some clever advice in this month's "Tricks of the Trade."
We also have another guest author for December. Sharon B. from Baltimore has written a personal story that we hope you find inspiring, and perhaps even life-saving. It's called "Life Day." We wish you and yours a very happy holiday season. See you in 2010! Warmly, Marla Morley Editor |
Transgender Day of Remembrance
by Marla M.
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Memorials Held in Sacramento, Stockton, and Cities Around the World
On September 21, 2008 in Sacramento, the body of 22-year-old Ruby
Molina was found floating facedown in the American River. On
May 20, 2006 in Stockton, 33-year-old Alfred "Ariana" Dibble was
brutally beaten and died three days later in the hospital. And on
the third weekend of November, 2009, the transgender communities of
Sacramento and Stockton gathered to remember Ruby and Ariana and
others like them, who were killed because they did not conform to
what society thought their gender should be.
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A Transgender Family Gathering by Rachel M.
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Over 50 Attendees Enjoy First Annual Gems Thanksgathering
Thanksgiving is all about spending time with the people who mean
the most to us. Being part of a wonderful transgender support group
such as the River City Gems means that people who are special to us
are all around us.
On Saturday, November 28, the Gems hosted their first annual "Thanksgathering." The idea came from the notion that many in the transgender community have either
lost the support of their loved ones, or cannot participate in their own
family's Thanksgiving as their true selves. In many ways the Gems represent an
alternative family to us, so why not gather our special family together in honor
of the holiday? Everyone was welcome and the Gems provided all the food at no
cost to the participants, as a gift to the community.
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Road Trip by Dianna R. & Chantelle
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Chantelle & Dianna - Destination Reno!
It was Labor Day weekend and the time had finally arrived! After months of
talking about the possibility of taking a "Road Trip" we were actually going to
do it! Three days of spontaneous adventure lay ahead for both of us. No real
plan, just two friends letting life flow and grabbing every moment as it came
our way. How exciting is that!
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Tricks of the Trade by Carollyn Olson
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 Zipping Up a Dress
When God made man, He designed his arms for most all activities and
chores.
Men, like women, can use their arms for just about anything in life
except a few actions reserved for the opposite sex. One is zipping
up a dress.
Zipping up your spouse's dress is simple. Zipping up your own dress
can be discouraging, depressing and stressful.
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A First Time for Everything by Cameron G.
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Being transgendered brings a lot of firsts for many of us who have
decided to take that fateful plunge into being a woman, and my first
of many escapades was the dreaded..."Mammogram."
Mammograms: now there is a word that seemed to conjure up the image
of "pain" or scenes from the Spanish Inquisition, as if the X-ray
technologists would all wear black or dark brown hooded robes, and
around their waists they would be wearing a large rope belt, and
hanging from the belt would be numerous small X-ray film cassettes.
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Life Day by Sharon B.
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Sharon B. resides in Baltimore and blogs as
TiresiasRedux. She
describes herself as a "middle-aged, late-blooming MtF TS." Sharon
is one of the co-founders of
TransParentDay, "a
day to celebrate being a parent without concern of the stereotypes of
gender." This article is reprinted with permission from the author.
In your life you have inflection moments. Those sequences of events that shape
your existence for all time going forward. For some it is a birth or a wedding,
for others the loss of somebody close. Maybe it was a harsh word, or one of
encouragement. Maybe it was one where you made some deep mental connection that
changed your perception about life and your very existence. Exactly twelve
months ago I had such an event.
In November 2008, for the first time in my life I admitted to
another person that I was a transsexual.
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The River City Gems is a nonprofit organization with a mission
to improve the lives of transgender individuals and their
families by providing education, resources, peer support, social
networking opportunities, outreach programs, and services
focused on the specific needs of the male-to-female transgender
community. Contributions are fully tax deductible under section 501(c)(3)
of the IRS code.
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www.rivercitygems.org | info@rivercitygems.org | facets@rivercitygems.org
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