This page covers Jamie's life as a transgender journalist and personality.

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Pepper Spray Causes Sore Feet

A Tranny-Band called PepperSpray has been playing gigs in the Bay Area for several months now. I finally got up to see them last night at the Stork Club in Oakland. Unfortunately there was another band playing first. Fortunately that other band, Second Date, was loads of fun dancing to, too.

Around 12:30AM, PepperSpray was able to set up and get going. Think 5 Trannyshack-style drag queens in a row, belting out classic Punk and New Wave dance songs.

My friend Jennifer Hope was in back, on drums. The rest of the band includes Trannyshack regulars Tinkle, Princess Kennedy, Precious Moments, Peggy L'Eggs, & Jordan L'Moore; Tim Perdue was on bass.

The Stork Club is a small venue in Oakland on Telegraph Ave. Urban streetlife outside; a bar, a low stage, a dance floor, and a few tables inside. There was a kitchen area behind the stage where performers hang out. The bar is decorated with collectable Barbie-doll packaged sets. When you dance, everyone notices you, and I had performers come down and boggie with me several times. The crowd at the show was not large, but was wildly diverse, including some "real Fellini characters".

As the expression goes, PepperSpray rocked! We all had fun, including Anne Marie, the lead singer from SecondDate, who hung around to dance. I am glad I was able to see them in such an intimate atmosphere.

This was the second time, in as many weeks, when I danced to a live band of TG performers. The other band was formed, ad-hoc, at the Esprit TG Conference at Port Angeles, Washingon (they were good too!). While I wish the delays during setups and breaks weren't there, live music is definately better than DJ-recorded. The magic of the interactions between the muscians and the dancers is why.

Pepperspray will be at SF Pride as well as playing several dates in San Francisco before. Their new website is at http://www.peppersprayband.com/. There was an older one called www.pepperspraytheband.com, but it seems to have been taken down as the result of a cat fight - now it takes you over to Lawrence Welk! (I got some of the names from a cache of the old site, so consider my fact checking dubious.)
posted by Jamie at 11:46 AM

 
A Grand Opening Indeed for Adam To Eve

Eve Summers recently started a transformation service in San Francisco and threw a grand opening party at AsiaSF last night. It was the best TG party I have ever been to in the Bay Area.

Eve selected 10 models to put on a small fashion show, including my dear friend Lannie Rose. Each was given a makeover and one outfit to wear to the party and another to model in the show. Lannie looked absolutely stunning. So did the other girls.

The crowd at the party was just the right size, and was augmented by a bachelorette party of fashionable genetic girls who were waiting to eat upstairs. Everyone was well turned-out and the DJ spun a flawless set. The fashion show was splendid and just the right length. It all came together.

I was reminded of the scene at the WayOut club in London, where they have a party like this every Saturday night near the Tower of London. I have longed to see something like that happen in our town, and Eve made that dream come true.

In one of her emails promoting this event, Eve hinted that she may be able to put on more events like this, perhaps monthly. Let us support her and encourage her!

Her website address is http://www.adamtoeve.com/.
posted by Jamie at 7:00 PM

 
Another Cat Fight Over Autogynephilia

J. Michael Bailey recently wrote a book entitled "The Man Who Would Be Queen". He picked the wrong title. Since it came out, I have read and heard many critical comments about it. Several well-known transgender activists and scientists have spoken out publicly about it, villifying the author and the National Academy of Sciences Press for publishing it.

I have not bought a copy yet - if it is as bad as people say, I don't want to be part of his royalty stream. There is a web site where you can browse the book page by page for free - it is just slow and hard to use. I saw enough to conclude that the book is not a scientific treatise - there are no references and only a meager bibiography.

The autogynephilia theory, developed by Ray Blanchard and made popular in recent times by Anne Lawrence, asserts that a prime motivating factor for later-life emergence of transsexuality is the experience of being sexually aroused by the thought or image of oneself as a woman. Anne wrote this up in a paper entitled "Men Trapped in Men's Bodies:
Autogynephilic Eroticism as a Motive for Seeking Sex Reassignment."

Dr. Lawrence made the same mistake Bailey did, and also was subjected to a lengthy flame war. Her mistake, and his, was to refer to transsexual women in her title as "men". In the TG world, calling a MtF TS a man is "using fighting words". As as operator of an internet service for TG people, and having been active in TG support groups, I have seen this insult hurled many times. Hearing one TS call another TS a man is like hearing someone being called a Nazi, it is a solid clue that it will be all heat and no light for the rest of the night.

It is too bad autogynephilia theory was revived using such unfortunate language. There is an enormous amount of denial regarding the influence of sexuality on transgender behavior and I bet that both authors never intended to insult anybody.

While I view autogynephilic arousal as being more of a coping strategy than a prime mover, it is an interesting concept worthy of serious discussion.

posted by Jamie at 5:57 PM

 
Jamie's Mental Disorder
Lately I have been dancing just about everywhere - in stores, walking around outside, while I am driving, even in business meetings. My ex-wife was upset when I danced during her friend's classic piano recital.

Obviously I am suffering from some sort of psychiatric disorder related to compulsive dancing. Since we will need a name to put down on the diagnosis forms, I searched the Internet looking to see if there is a name for what I have.

There is "Dancing Feet Syndrome" and "Dancing Eyes and Feet Syndrome" - but these refer to neurological disorders in which someone has trouble sleeping because their body won't stop moving. Alas, my affliction seems to be undesignated.

I tried making up a few names:

Compulsive-Expressive Disorder.
Dancalepsy
Jamie Faye's Syndrome

... but the one I like best so far is:

Pedakinetimania!
posted by Jamie at 4:27 PM

 
A Tranny Munch for San Francisco?

A munch is an informal get-together, at a resturant or cafe, of people interested in some aspect of the BDSM scene. The concept originated in Palo Alto and has spread world-wide.

People do not "play" at munches, rather they are for both newcomers and regulars to socialize with each other and to learn more. They are generally held at a resturant or cafe that can handle a variable-sized group at the date and time announced. Some munchs include brief programs and announcements, so the group generally works with the venue management to avoid freaking out normals.

Several of my friends have reported some uneasiness about meeting people in bars and dance clubs. It is hard to hear and interactions with people are difficult to sustain. Perhaps a TG munch is the answer.

The TGSF get-together on the last Thursday of each month does take place at a resturant, the Blue Muse, on Gough St. It is more formal than a munch, and there is pressure to dress well. For many years, there was a group in the South Bay called "The Thursday Irregulars" that met at noon at Harry's Hofbrau, usually in "drab". Gwen Smith runs a munch-like event each month called the Transbay Gathering at "Quetzal," a coffee house at 1234 Polk.

One idea is to have a munch somewhere in the South of Market Area (SoMA) in San Franscisco, on Tuesday nights before Trannyshack. An ideal setup would be: inexpensive food, easy parking, supportive management, and a place to change into your club wear if you are up for Trannyshack later.

Let me know what you think about this plan, and possible alternatives, by contacting me at:
jamie@tgforum.com.
posted by Jamie at 1:16 PM