Florida Agenda

By Nicholas Snow

Born the son of one of the world’s most famous and celebrated authors, Lannie Woulff is now a transgendered grandmother in her sixties. Huh? Yes, Lannie’s upbringing was “more a bit out of the ordinary, mostly stemming from the fact of my father’s literary stature.”  Her father is the Pulitzer Prize-winning author Herman Wouk, a detail she does not volunteer readily.

“One summer at the beach, when I was around four years old, I was hanging out with a couple of the other little boys and for some reason I just blurted out, ‘Oh, I wish I’d been born a girl!’

As you can imagine, they laughed like crazy and made fun of me and went around telling the entire gang that I was a sissy,” revealed Lannie. “This happened long before GLBT liberation, back when it was fatal to admit something like that. Naturally, the lesson I took away from that experience was to keep my mouth shut and stuff my feelings. I went deep into the closet, locked myself in with denial and substance abuse, and stayed there for almost thirty years.”

“In my mid-forties,” Lannie continued, “when I finally learned how to work a computer and go online, I soon discovered that there were many others like me, who felt the same way. I was stunned, frightened, fascinated, intrigued, and horrified. I’d barely ever heard the word ‘transsexual.’ But beyond any doubt, I knew this was my truth. Nothing was ever the same after that. Despite the tidal wave of disruptions and turmoil that ensued, I felt absolutely liberated.”

Having had my own misconceptions over the years, I asked Lannie what she believes are the most common misperceptions about transgender individuals.

“Aside from thinking that we all look like Terry Bradshaw in a peignoir,” she responded, “I think the biggest misconception people have is that we are all gay.  But in fact, GID – Gender Identity Disorder – is about how you feel in your heart and your mind, and has nothing to do with sexual preference/orientation.

“One day as I sat pondering the paradoxical realities of switching genders, a thought suddenly flashed into my mind: ‘What if a male-to-female transsexual had unknowingly fathered a child back in his pre-transition days?’ In that instant, I knew I had discovered the makings of a whopping good suspense yarn, and ‘She’s My Dad’ was born.

“A cautionary tale about the consequences of blind prejudice, ‘She’s My Dad’ tells the story of a transsexual woman named Nickie Farrell, who, returning to her Northern Virginia alma mater to teach English to a new generation of scholars, is unaware that in the nearby town lives a son from an illicit love affair she had during her male undergraduate days,” explains the official synopsis.

Lannie, as I mentioned, does not like to talk about her famous father. Is this because she believes she would be perceived to be exploiting him? She responded, “People are free to perceive what they wish. Especially in today’s celebrity-obsessed world. I place a high value on privacy, as does everyone else in my family. Both of my parents were kind enough to read ‘She’s My Dad.’ I was enormously pleased by their reactions.

“Based solely on my own experience, I would simply say have patience, and be realistic. Patience is never an easy thing, but a hasty gender transition can prove absolutely fatal,” she advises other transgendered individuals.

“Take your time, do it by the book, and don’t cut medical corners. Just because you have the resources to buy a new set of genitalia within a year doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a good idea. As for being realistic, never forget that womanhood isn’t a fantasy, or a fetish, but a simple fact. If your idea of being female is a non-stop estrogen-fueled giggle of high heels, blue eye shadow, and sex, you’re on the wrong track. I’ve never yet met a woman who got turned on all day because she was wearing a bra. Forget the glamour and nonsense, and remember that women are just people.”

“She’s My Dad” is available at the usual online retailers – Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and so forth – in hardcover, paperback and Kindle formats. Become a fan at Facebook.com/IolantheWoulff. For video interviews, search YouTube with the author’s name or visit www.iolanthewoulff.com.

SnowBiz Florida Agenda

Follow Nicholas Snow online at  www.Facebook.com/SnowbizNow, www.Twitter.com/SnowbizNow, and at www.SnowbizNow.com. Follow “The Power To Be Strong” HIV Testing / Safer Sex Awareness Campaign at www.Facebook.com/PowerToBeStrong.

By AJ Cross

A very attractive 19-year old young man from Puerto Rico looks at me with his hazel green eyes and begins to tell me about an important woman in his life. She is a woman who is brave and bold and empowers him whenever she is around. He tells me that it is only when she is present that he feels all of his inhibitions fade away. He tells me that when he looks into the mirror “she looks back at me”. Carlos is a 19-year old transexual with hopes of one day being able to afford the operation and hormones that will allow him to become a woman. He sits across from me in cargo shorts, sandals and a white tank top. From where I sit, he is a very cute guy with intelligent eyes and he speaks with a slight accent which gives off a certain naivety I find charming.

I wondered why a person born to be such a beautiful boy was not happy with that. In my ignorance, I thought perhaps it would be more understandable if he were esthetically unattractive and because of that he decided to put knife to skin in order to achieve a higher level of appeal. As our conversation continued, I began to realize that his interest in changing his sex had absolutely nothing to do with whether or not he was attractive – or even if he perceived himself that way.  He said it best when he stated that “God made a mistake and I was supposed to be a woman”. Now as a man who is very happy being a man and very happy with the fact that I have the proper anatomical equipment that comes with being a man, I had to really step outside of my own head to truly grasp this concept.

He began to describe some of the reasons why he believed himself to be a woman trapped in a man’s body. He told me that he had dreams of giving birth and that he would wake up a with a sense of calm and happiness, and that as a child he would hold his teddy bear like a mother holding its baby and would walk it around his house in his younger sister’s baby stroller. He said that he had a total disinterest in men’s clothing and would secretly envy his mother because she would wear beautiful dresses and shoes every Sunday for church while he was forced to wear pants, a button down shirt, vest and a bow tie. He continued explaining to me that he is disgusted by his penis. Even when men have told him that he was large and it was beautiful, he would simply turn over and let the men “have their way with him”. He was open about the fact that he had only ever bottomed and that he would feel sick in his stomach if someone even suggested that he should top them.

He said that he never let a guy perform oral on him and would insist that he do all of the servicing in an intimate situation. He told me that he would only sleep with men who treated him like he was a woman and since woman didn’t have a penis that no one should have an interest in his.

Again, this was a very difficult mindset for me to grasp because, from my standpoint, the fact that the person I am with has a penis is one of the great physical appeals. I really wanted to understand all of this and, as I have encountered so many drag queens, transvestites and transsexuals in my life never having had the opportunity to explore the topic with them, I could not lose this chance to delve into the psyche of a young man who was headed in that direction.

I asked him the following questions and here were his responses:

Me: Have you ever referred to your butt as a vagina during sex?

Carlos: Yes! That is what it is.

Me: Have you had sex with another man dressed as a woman?

Carlos: No! I’m not a fake. I do not want to trick someone or shock them. I will have sex with a man as my true self soon enough.
Me: As I sit here speaking to you, I find that you have a normal guys voice and you come across rather masculine. How come you do not alter your voice or the way you carry yourself to appear more feminine?

Carlos: Again, I’m not trying to pretend I am a woman. I am a woman trapped in this body. My voice is my voice for now. But one day it will change. This whole thing I am going to do is about being real and showing the world who I really am, and if I start faking that now, there is no point.

As the conversation continued, I asked him to show me some pictures of him as a woman and he smiled as if he was so happy I asked. He pulled out his cell phone and began to slide through photos of him in drag and I have to admit he was just as beautiful dressed as woman as he was as a boy. He began to tell me that the world is just learning to understand – or at least accept –  homosexuals, and even homosexuals have not really tried to understand transvestites and transsexuals. He told me that he thinks it has always been and will always be a harder struggle for  people like him, because he is in the minority of minorities. I think he is right.

I think that we, as a united gay community, need to do a better job of understanding one another before we demand that heterosexuals try to understand us. We need to seek out people like Carlos who think they are alone in their thoughts and feelings and let them know that they are not alone and that who they are or who they think they should be has a place in this world. I tell this story to celebrate the courage of Carlos and all of my fellow gay brothers who think they should be my sisters. If you are a boy who looks in the mirror and sees a woman looking back at you, then this story is to inspire and encourage you and give you some love. Be true to yourself and it will work out. I end this week’s columns with a quote from Carlos; “sitting down to pee is more comfortable”.

By ALEX VAUGHN

Renée Richards was an American ophthalmologist, author and former professional tennis player. In 1975, Richards underwent sex reassignment surgery.

She is famously known for initially being denied entry into the 1976 US Open by the United States Tennis Association, citing an unprecedented women-born-women policy. She disputed the ban and, in a landmark 1977 decision for transgender rights, the New York Supreme Court ruled in her favor.  The USTA was forbidden from forcing her to submit to chromosal testing before allowing her to play.

Richards, who is Jewish, was born in New York City and named Richard Raskind, and raised, in her own words,  as “a nice Jewish boy”. Raskind reached the final of the men’s national 35-and-over tennis championships in 1972. Raskind was referred to surgeon Roberto C. Granato, Sr. by Harry Benjamin and successfully transitioned in 1975.

Richards played from 1977 to 1981. She was ranked as high as 20th overall (February 1979), and her highest ranking at the end of a year was 22nd (1977). In her first professional event as a female, she was a finalist in women’s doubles (with Betty Ann Stuart, 1977) and continued to have a successful career afterward.
She later coached Martina Navratilova to two Wimbledon wins and was inducted into the USTA Eastern Tennis Hall of Fame in 2000.

Agenda sat down with Renée to discuss her life on the cusp of the premiere of the most comprehensive documentary about her to date, entitled simply, Renée. The film is one of the anchor films of the 2011 Tribeca/ESPN Sports Film Festival, where it will have its world premiere in April.

There has been a misconception that you had your sex change so that you could play women’s professional tennis. If that’s not the case, could you explain further what changed your mind about being an eye doctor and instead going on to the women’s professional tour, and eventually the US Open?

Do you think anyone in their right or wrong mind would have a sex change just to be a tennis player! I played tennis successfully before the sex change. In fact, in my younger days I was the quintessential amateur sportsman.I had the sex change because I was compelled to do so. There were many factors: Nurture, nature, hormones and genetics. There were all kinds of influences.

Was there a point at which you decided to become a pioneer, or did  it evolve and eventually become a passion?

In spite of my efforts after my sex change to live a quiet normal life in Newport, California, I got found out because I played some tennis at my Country Club. I was warned to stay off the courts! Though I didn’t see the need to avoid my passion – I couldn’t help my identity.
I suppose I became a pioneer when I decided to fight, a lot of people told me to go ahead, as I was representing not just transsexuals but those facing any kind of discrimination.

Do you still feel that passion?

Yes, I don’t regret my decision to have the sex change. However, it did change my life. I was on my way to ‘woodworking’ into my new life. Nowadays woodworking [blending into society] is not necessary, as there are so many transsexuals going on TV.
Once I was found out, I knew I had a choice: Continue my practice or play
tennis.

Who did you lean on during this time?  Who supported you?

I had a lot of support from within the tennis community. Jean from Tennis Week arranged the infamous Orange Court Tournament. They even had a special tournament for me in Hawaii.

Billy Jean King was instrumental in helping me win my case. She provided an Affidavit that I believe sealed the deal. She said she saw no reason why I
shouldn’t be allowed to play, that I was a woman in my mind and body and that she had played a couple of doubles with me. We were in the courtroom and the judge was wading through the affidavits from the other side. He asked my lawyers if they had any. We said, ‘yes, from Billy Jean King’. He nearly jumped out of his seat.
Martina Navratilova said to me after she beat me at a match, “Renée, keep up the fight. You are going to make it”. That was a tremendous encouragement.

You have been credited with turning Martina’s career around.

I do get a lot of credit, I only accept some. It was a wonderful experience coaching her.

That support must have helped in the fight.  Yes, I would say a lot of the reason I pushed so strongly was because I was told I couldn’t do it. I am obstinate, so that is the worst thing you could say to me. I was warned to just stay in Newport and play tennis at the club.  Maybe I would have preferred that. I was told by friends not to become a public enemy.

When you decided to become a pro tennis player, you legitimized transsexuals in sports. How do you feel about that?

I am proud of what I have done and I don’t regret my sex change; however the ruling was for me as an older individual, not for all transsexuals still to come.

Do you give any weight to the idea of competitive advantage?

Well yes, I was forty one when I won the right to play. If I had been given that right at twenty, it would have been incredibly unfair.

How do you feel about the young woman from Germany playing tennis, and the young woman on LPGA tour? What advice do you have for them?

As I said, I would be aware of the competitive advantage. I don’t even feel I am best place to give advice. The ruling for me was as an individual – it was not a blanket ruling. I get into trouble when giving advice. There was a mountain biker and I said she should do it for fun, not as a competitive sport because she would have been too strong.

How did winning the right to play impact you?

It changed my life. I was somewhat unprepared for the slings and arrows I encountered.

How would you like to be remembered?

I don’t think as a pioneer. As a good person, a good parent, a good doctor and a good tennis player. I have regrets about making that fateful decision to carry on the fight. Mainly my loss of privacy. Looking back there are some regrets, but not a lot. My life would have been a lot different as a private citizen. I had been a very private person in my former life.

You have a movie coming out. How is this different from other pieces done on you?

It is terrific. I know I will be back in the public eye again. I have a beautiful gown for the premier. I am extremely excited. This is by far the most thorough documentary on me. The director has spent two and half years interviewing my friends and family and professionals from the tennis community. Both those against and for me.

A documentary about Renée Richards, titled Renée, is one of the anchor films of the 2011 Tribeca/ESPN Sports Film Festival in April.

On monday night Boom played host to the 15th annual Miss South Florida Illusionists National Pageant. This year they had 4 Pageants in one.

And the winners were:

Miss South Florida Illusion National
• Porsha Chambers

Miss South Florida Illusion National Classic (for girls over 40 years old)
• Amanda West

Miss south Florida Illusion National Plus ( for girls wieghing over 200 lbs)
• Latrice Royale

Miss South Florida Illusion National “T” (for transexual girls)
• Champagne Bordeaux

Former Winners include;
Diva, Sharde Ross, Velvet Lenore,
Ciara Douglas, Tonna McKenzie,
and Vegas Dion