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The monthly e-magazine of the River City Gems
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September 2009
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Join Our Email List!
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September Events
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Monthly Social-Sep 19
Drab Gab-Sep 25
Carla's Dance Party-Sep 26
River City Sparkle-Oct 3
For more information, visit our upcoming events page!
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River City Sparkle!
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October 3, 2009
Martinique Ballroom
Red Lion Hotel, Sacramento
6:30 til Midnight
Advance tickets for River City Sparkle 2009 are only available until September 27! Tickets at the door will be limited, so make sure you order by the deadline to guarantee your spot and get the advance price of just $50 ($45 for River City Gems members).
River City Sparkle is an elegant transgender celebration featuring dinner, professional live entertainment, dancing, fabulous prizes, and much more.
To buy tickets, visit
www.rivercitysparkle.org. There you'll
find all the information you need about hotel reservations, parking, entertainment,
makeovers and other resources. There's even a Frequently Asked Questions page.
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We are pleased to welcome new members Tilda, Pauline, Roxy G, Julia A, and Cheryle 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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There's a lot going on in Northern California in September -- from the Rainbow Festival in Sacramento, to Stanislaus Pride in Modesto, to the Folsom Street Fair in San Francisco. Visit our Community Calendar to get all the dates!
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Greetings!
In this month's issue, Alice Novic, M.D., talks to Facets about writing, therapy, the virtues of not passing, and life since the publication of her groundbreaking book, Alice in Genderland. You can meet Alice and hear her speak at River City Sparkle on October 3.
If you like beautiful brides and fairytale weddings, you'll love this month's feature story on how one couple chose to renew their wedding vows -- with a TG twist. Plus, read about Kimberly and Jilly Brown's quest to visit other transgender groups across the country on a 3-month coast-to-coast road trip! There's also a report on the second annual River City Gems Luau, and a new Tricks of the Trade column from Carollyn Olson.
Finally, have you ever wondered if there was a way to know for sure where you fall on the transgender spectrum? Guest author Trish Valentine shares how she gained unexpected insight into her own gender issues after taking medication for an unrelated health condition.
If you enjoy this month's Facets,
tell a friend!
Warmly,
Marla Morley
Editor
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Interview with Alice Novic, M.D. by Marla Morley
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 Alice Novic, M.D. is the author of Alice in Genderland, the
first major memoir by a crossdresser. She is also a practicing
psychiatrist and a member of the Gay and Lesbian Medical Association
and the World Professional Association for Transgender Health
(WPATH).
Marla: Your book is subtitled A Crossdresser
Comes of Age.
Do you still identify with that label?
Alice: Yes, I do, Marla, especially in responding
to people who simply want to know whether I'm part-time or
full-time. I haven't transitioned, nor ever intend to, so from a
social standpoint I don't believe I've earned the right to identify
as transsexual. From a personal standpoint, which I only bother my
best t-buddies with, I see myself as a started-out-straight MTF, a
category which for me includes everyone from deeply closeted men to
extremely stealthy trans women, and numerous out-and-proud folks at
all points in between.
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Gems Go Hawaiian!
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Second Annual Luau Offers Taste of the Islands
Grass skirts, tiki torches, leis, and hula hoops set the scene
for a picture-perfect Hawaiian festival that was enjoyed by 50 River
City Gems members and guests on August 22.
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Kimberly and Jilly's Road Trip by Kimberly Brown
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Gems Traveling Ambassadors Make Friends from Coast to Coast
At the end of July, Jilly and I returned from our epic road trip
across the USA and back. Wow, what a trip! Our two month vacation in
the motor home stretched to three months, and we still didn't have
enough time to see everything that we wanted to see.
Before we set out, Jilly and I decided we were going to look up
transgender social and support groups online so that we could
contact them when we were going to be in an area for a few days. We
hoped to meet other girls from across the nation and promote good
will between their groups and ours. Happily, I was able to do all
the driving and a lot of the sightseeing as Kimberly, which was an
adventure in itself.
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Re-Tying the Knot
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 Vow Renewal Marks New Beginning for Couple
This month, Crisa-Rose and Terri Daniels will celebrate a very
special anniversary. On September 20 of last year, they
renewed their wedding vows in an elaborate ceremony that brought
together friends and family to witness and celebrate their
commitment to one another. "We have two anniversaries now," explains
Crisa, "one in June, and one in September."
Wedding vow renewals have become increasingly popular as a way for
couples to reaffirm their love after years of marriage. But when one
spouse is transgender, the ceremony can take on added layers of
meaning. For Crisa and Terri, it was about accepting and embracing a
new dimension to their married life. "Terri never knew about Crisa
until we had been married for 5 years," Crisa says. "I wasn't
sure of who I was back then, and I didn't share it with her.
So she didn't have a chance to marry the whole person. Getting
married again brought completeness to our relationship."
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Tricks of the Trade by Carollyn Olson
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All About Lips
Renowned artists Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo took years to learn
their trade before they produced the Mona Lisa and the Sistine Chapel
paintings.
When it comes to painting our lips, it shouldn't take years to learn or
complete, but it should be done deliberately.
Applying lipstick is an art. Don't let anyone fool you. Taking out a tube of
lipstick and painting your lips should not be taken lightly. Lipstick will
complete your appearance and will go a long way in defining who you are.
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Lupron and Ironic Musings on the Gender Spectrum by Trish Valentine
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 Let's get the technical stuff out of the way first. Last August I
received a shot of Lupron for a medical condition. One use of Lupron
medication (usually administered via a shot by a urologist) is to
shrink the prostate gland. The dosage can be adjusted for one month,
three months or four months in duration. It also can be administered
by mouth on a daily basis. Lupron works by stopping the production
of sex hormones for prostate shrinkage. Testosterone is fuel to the
prostate; thus when the fuel supply is cut off, the prostate
shrinks. Lupron is not like Spironolactone, or other androgen
suppressors, which just inhibit the effects of testosterone, not the
production of testosterone. Since Lupron stops the production of sex
hormones, the production of estrogen is also shut down. (Males
produce small amounts of estrogen, just not as much as females do.)
Without sex hormones, the libido goes into hiding.
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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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