Abedy

For heaven's sake, really, you have realized that trans women are women, are human beings? To me, this term of yours is at least not an affirmative one. Just consider me a woman, howzat? Hugs from Germany, Hannah The sky is not the limit. The ground is. The Society of Skydiving Ducks

First, transgender people come in all shapes, from so many different walks of life, so there are also transgender people who happen to be conservative. I myself know some apart from Caitlyn Jenner. Given the way most conservatives see and treat transgender people (introducing defamatory "bathroom bills" or calling us abominations, denying us equal rights) it is no wonder that many transgender people lean towards liberalism. But not all of them. We are not walking stereotypes. And for the dreaded t-word: Please have a look here at http://www.glaad.org/reference/transgender, I don't make up anything. Defamatory: "tranny," "she-male," "he/she," "it," "shim" These words dehumanize transgender people and should not be used in mainstream media. The criteria for using these derogatory terms should be the same as those applied to vulgar epithets used to target other groups: they should not be used except in a direct quote that reveals the bias of the person quoted. So that such words are not given credibility in the media, it is preferred that reporters say, "The person used a derogatory word for a transgender person." Please note that while some transgender people may use "tranny" to describe themselves, others find it profoundly offensive. Best wishes & Hugs, Hannah The sky is not the limit. The ground is. The Society of Skydiving Ducks

Hi folks, a short follow-up: You can have excellent surgeons, and such I had, but you can't predict scar tissue and the healing process in detail. Due to this, it took longer than I thought before I could resume skydiving, but yesterday I made four jumps. Fun jumps, no tandems yet. As if I had jumped last week, everything was fine the moment I got to the DZ. I wore my "old" (i.e. "his") staff jumpsuit which in some regions doesn't fit (but in another one is too ...baggy? ) now. The jumps were simply great. Additionally, I couldn't resist having a photo taken with this Morgan (but Dr Mallard wasn't around, such a pity.) I am going to have some minor corrective surgeries in September so I will try to make the best of the weekends remaining The sky is not the limit. The ground is. The Society of Skydiving Ducks

Well, some say transition is never really over. I, for myself, consider the third puberty I am going through right now part of it. And yes, I also wanted to show how happy and real I am now. And how proud a granny I am

I made a video of my transition, so if you like to watch it, just go clicky: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3M9iIegp4Yw Sorry about the music, but this was the only copyright-free music I had (given to me in the early 1990s by Amiga-freax who uploaded their free self-made MIDI files in my now long-gone FIDOnet BBS.) Germany is a mad area when it comes to music copyrights... Hugs, Hannah (still grounded but not regretting the reason it was for, on the contrary and looking forward to jumping again) The sky is not the limit. The ground is. The Society of Skydiving Ducks

Nice video! Thanks. I've seen a short report about this car on German TV a year ago or so, but it was dubbed. Sounds way more charming with British accent

Looks nice. I am not much into bikes and sports cars, but it looks nice from the front. Its bum isn't that attractive, to be honest. I was fascinated by this car - see pics - of one of the skydivers at my new DZ. It looks kinda similar but has four wheels.

I think it's offensive and ignorant in a two-fold way. First, they take your pic (OK, it does look a little funny but we all know skydiving and photos do not always go together in a flattering way) well, they take your pic to hint "Moron, Idiot" which comes close to an insult. Second, they hint that skydiving is for morons and idiot who are going to die. As for "men are more likely to kill themselves in silly actions" - this may be true in respect to percentage. I doubt, however, it got much to do with XY or anatomy or the influence of testosterone. I am sure it got much more to do with upbringing. Men are constantly told to be fighters, to be soldiers, to be strong, to take risks or they ain't no real men (*). So it's rather upbringing and societal expectations and pressure, that drive at least those men prone to give in to these expectations to engaging in silly activities. Just my 2 Eurocents. Hannah (*) No wonder closeted trans women often hide in jobs or activities that are physically demanding, include risks etc. Jet pilots, firefighters, soldiers, Navy SEALs, you name it.) The sky is not the limit. The ground is. The Society of Skydiving Ducks

YFYI: It is done. I now also fit the bill in respect to anatomy. Not that I needed to "completely feel as a woman" because I am a woman no matter what's between my legs. Being a woman is - and has been from my time in the womb - hard-wired in my brain. Nevertheless, I got rid of flesh that didn't feel right down there and which I had problems with all my life. And my nightmares about having an accident and being put on a men's room and be mocked or even harassed only because of them three ounces no longer haunt me. Living in Germany - we don't have any of these infamous bathroom bills - I cannot be forced to use men's facilities any longer as it had happened in my gym, for example. I could list other reasons such as being able to go swimming in the open without anything but putting on a bikini (even nude bathing, heh heh, I live in East Germany) or wearing tight trousers and many more. I am healing well. Had one of the best surgeons in Europe. Swellings and bruises take their time, though. I noticed my upper body strength had dramatically reduced and I don't know if I will be able to resume tandem jumping. Lack of strength can - at least partly - be counteracted by technique, technique and technique. But I will have to find out how most delicate tissue will react to pressure by leg straps. Not being able to sit without a doughnut cushion I suspect it's gonna take several months. But I made my last tandem jumps in 2014 knowing they could be last ones and all of them were so great. My focus has shifted - I no longer need or want to "prove" anything, maintain ranks in the DZ hierarchy or achieve new records. I am too busy enjoying life now that I can be my real me. Hugs, Hannah P.S.: I added a combo pic from the clinic and a most recent one. The sky is not the limit. The ground is. The Society of Skydiving Ducks

It made it into the news here as well, but on the back pages. What upset me was that reportedly the Christian churches and Christian politicians heavily criticised the ruling as it would be a danger to public moral and the holy institution of marriage. Can't these people please keep their focus out of other people's beds (or carpets or... whatever.) The sky is not the limit. The ground is. The Society of Skydiving Ducks

Woohoo. I didn't see it, actually but was told by a reliable source that a tandem student who made their jump at the neighbouring DZ was so scared (the TIs there were a very rough kind of folks, made bad jokes etc pp) that he soiled his pants and it became visible when they slide-landed. Eeks. The sky is not the limit. The ground is. The Society of Skydiving Ducks

Was in 2006 or so. 4way, randoms only, training. At 2000 m I take a look... and see the bl**dy AN-2 of the neighbouring club only about 100 or 200m away. I could even make out the pilot (not his face) and was soooo scared but flipped to bird to him. We later could see it on video. The AN2 pilot had not listened to ground control or whatever. A friend later told me our DZO had his radio on and everybody could listen to ground control frantically shouting and screaming that this sh*tty, dammit, bl**dy idi*t should get his heap of plane out of the way of skydivers approaching earth. Everybody was scared. Nothing happened but this was such a close call. The pilot later came by, expressed a lame "excuse me, wasn't my best performance" and had the cheek to NOT bring a case of beer. I was glad enough I was alive, so... The sky is not the limit. The ground is. The Society of Skydiving Ducks

You owe me a new keyboard. The sky is not the limit. The ground is. The Society of Skydiving Ducks

It was my jump #30 or so. I had a long way home and as I had only learned to pull down rear risers (with a PD 210, uh-hum) I was pretty worn off and was so focused to get back to the landing zone, I did not look at the landing arrow and could have done so for at least 3 or 4 minutes. Realising I was too low for a 180 I started hollering "Ah f*ck, idiot me, outa the way, landing downwind" all kind of stuff to prevent others from running into me. Uh-hum... everybody HAD already landed which I also had not noticed. The DZO summoned me up and we had some talk. Oh, I was so ashamed... The sky is not the limit. The ground is. The Society of Skydiving Ducks

I ran across this link (http://www.glaad.org/reference/transgender) yesterday - once again, but had forgotten about it - and here one can find short and concise information about transgender related vocabulary. From GLAAD, which is one of the most important LGBT organisations in the States and as it has a transgender Co-Chair (Jenny Boylan) and transgender board members (e.g. Lana Moore) it is authentic and spot-on. It clearly states: As for "...some transgender people may use this term..." - my guess is it's mainly trying to reclaim the term and rid it of its offensive meaning. The problem is that the "critical mass" to succeed is way too low. It doesn't even completely work with "gay" and gay people outnumber transgender people by the factor 10. Anyway, if a few transgender people do so, it's not a free cheque to cis-gender people to use it to refer to transgender people. Just like some African-Americans and their using the N word, I think. 'nuff said, wish you all a nice week and to all of you who can jump... I AM NOT ENVIOUS! Hugs from Germany, Hannah

Once again, I would like to thank folks hanging out here at DZ.com for the overwhelming support and the many nice and warm-hearted PMs and postings. I hope we can keep it this way, Let's make it so [Picard emoji not detected] The sky is not the limit. The ground is. The Society of Skydiving Ducks

Dear Mr BIGUN, (sorry I do not know your name) your comment bears evidence you did not read some of my postings and to me, sounds patronizing. First of all: I cannot change my user name here but have decided to NOT post under a new account. However, it shall be nice to acknowledge my being female by using my name with which I end all of my postings. All other users do so. I have repeatedly acknowledged and warmly thanked for the loads of support and supporting PMs and forum posts here. Please just click through this thread. I have never, I repeat: Never, posed as a "victim" of "forum jerks" I have NOT, I repeat: I have NOT a grudge with Twardo. On the contrary. I only was offended by another user who picked up Twardo's line and shoved it right into my face. Trust me, trans person really do NOT, I repeat: NOT, like "SEX CHANGE SURGERY!!!eleven" "jokes" And please - as someone cis-gender - please do not tell me what I have to consider "light hearted humour" I also do not need to be "educated about Twardo" - I have known him for years here on DZ.com Apart from that, I don't like the message of your writing you "hope I will be willing to learn" - Sounds patronizing and is so wrong. Really, I really wish you'd have to walk into a trans woman's shoes for only one week. The first thing you'd learn is we are open to difference, to variety, to that people come in so many ways. But also that we - as you probably think - are "pushy" about being asked and/or referenced to our genitalia. And please do not tell me - and do not disqualify it as "expectations" - how to feel about certain words. You only need to do some search on the net to find out how TRANSGENDER WOMEN are offended and dismiss the T word (as I already wrote in one posting regarding RuPaul and his using the T word) so please do not throw some isolated observations into the ring. I know that some gay men and some lesbian women use this term. So what. They are not transgender women. I know that some crossdressers use the T word. So what. They are cis-gender men, not transgender women. Transgender women have repeatedly expressed that the T word is offensive and derogative to them. To your convinience, here is a link you may read as it is a pretty good article on this topic: http://www.advocate.com/commentary/2014/02/20/op-ed-its-time-stop-t-word If you feel the need to discuss this matter further please do so. I only ask you to do it after reading my postings in full. Sincerely yours, Hannah Kruse The sky is not the limit. The ground is. The Society of Skydiving Ducks

I was being sarcastic. If you read my story on Blue Skies Mag you will find information that being transgender and being a TI do not cancel out each other. Except when the local powers-to-be prefer to remain ignorant. As for the joke thing: I know that you just made a joke. I know your kind of humour and can easily deal with it. And we've exchanged some PMs, so everything is good. I was just a little annoyed that another member flat-out jumped on that line and shoved it into my face. The sky is not the limit. The ground is. The Society of Skydiving Ducks

That is why I am out to the world. To - perhaps - give that one example to a scared closeted trans person. As much as I see it she should be able to jump and be welcome to do so on almost all DZs. (If she happens to be TI, things might be a little more complicated.) Hugs, Hannah The sky is not the limit. The ground is. The Society of Skydiving Ducks

My pleasure. I am happy so many people like it

Thanks

Thanks to you, rifleman, promise5...

Dear Joe, I see things like you and thanks so much for your posting. Just a few additional lines about Bruce Jenner from my point of view. Maybe the fact I live so far away may help to see it on the base it needs to be seen: I just see the person, not a celebrity as he or the Kardashians don't play a role here. 1. The only person to declare if they are transgender or not is the person themselves. And they do not have the obligation to "declare" it. Golden rule: Do. Not. Assume. Gender. 2. I also find it pathetic and hurtful to make cheap and transphobic "jokes" about Bruce Jenner. For f*ck's sake, a person has died in that accident and some people can only come up with jokes and derogatory terms? Yes, "tr*nny" is a derogatory and dehumanising term. It must not be used. RuPaul? Do a search and find the many, many angry replies and well-crafted articles about why this term is so hurtful and so wrong. Transwomen like me who live happily, full-time and in a stable relationship just feel annoyed and may get vocal about these terms and "jokes." But imagine such a "joke" cracked or a transwoman called names such as "tr*nny" or "SheM*le" and a young person nearby has to listen to that. A young person questioning their gender. A young person knowing they are transgender. And again they are dealt a blow, their self-esteem - already so fragile - shattered again. They may virtually get scared to death whether to come out and start transition or not! Add that just in the first seven weeks of this year seven transwomen have been murdered in the US and this makes scornful remarks and cheap jokes even more hurtful and intimidating. 3. Some articles I found on the net regarding Bruce Jenner: http://theindiechicks.com/bruce-jenner-whats-not-said-transition/ http://www.mtv.com/news/2070344/what-are-the-rules-for-talking-about-bruce-jenner-heres-what-mtv-news-is-and-isnt-saying/?fb_ref=fbshare_web http://www.slate.com/blogs/outward/2015/02/02/bruce_jenner_gender_identity_gossip_is_dangerous_and_disrespectful.html?wpsrc=sh_all_mob_tw_bot This is just for information. I know that there are so, so many folks out there who are in the boat with me. I know that those who think we are lesser beings and deserve to be the bottom line of cheap jokes will refuse to read, but anyway... Love and open-mindedness will prevail. Best wishes and hugs from Germany, Hannah

Thanks so much to you as well as Rick, jclalor and wolfriverjoe

So far so good. (OK, I "look like a girl" because... I amone. But this I had wanted to remain in the realm of semantics. And I pretended I had not noticed Twardo's remark. Why? Because it seems inevitable that in a thread about transwomen someone comes up with a reference to "SEX CHANGE SURGERY!!!!eleven" Transwomen do not, really not, like it to be referenced to or reduced to their genitalia. But I thought it would be better to leave it "unnoticed" So, many thanks you shoved it right into my face. Now you gotta live with my reply. The sky is not the limit. The ground is. The Society of Skydiving Ducks