15 December 2011

Male model fronts campaign for push-up bras

source: yahoo news

While most lingerie brands would usually pick a buxom lady to model their latest underwear collections, Dutch department store Hema have opted for a more unconventional choice. 
Male model Andrej Pejic fronts the campaign for the ‘Mega Push-Up Bra’ from Hema that promises to ‘add two cup sizes’.
The company’s decision to have a man front the campaign appears to have paid off - as his natural cleavage-free physique is visibly enhanced by their ‘boosting’ bra.

13 December 2011

Nepal Set to Recognize Third Gender

in NEPAL, 09/12/2011 source: ILGA: The Word on Women
Following the signing of a major peace agreement, key political parties in Nepal are scheduled to conclude a constitutional reform process this month. The complicated drafting process and years of preceding negotiations have finally enabled longtime enemy factions, including Maoists, to come to the table together.

Now, the hard-won gains can serve as a regional and global model for inclusiveness.

In an unprecedented move, Nepal is set to recognize third gender individuals.

12 December 2011

Transgender Reality TV Show in Bangladesh


AttributionNoncommercialShare Alike Some rights reserved by Rajiv Ashrafi

The first reality show for transgender people is to be launched by a Bangladesh TV channel in an effort to break down widespread suspicion of the country's "hijra" community.

The ATN Bangla show, "Amra Tomadery" (We are for you), is now accepting applications to be one of around 40 contestants who will showcase their dancing and acting skills to win audience votes.

09 December 2011

Great Make-Up tips for Indians - by Uma Preve

Wow! i found this great Indian make-up blog by the gorgeous GG Uma Preve - http://www.umapreve.com/
This this tutorial for Modern Indian dinner party makeup. Simply gorgeous. I am going to try this out. But I am sure I wont look as pretty as her.LOL!




28 November 2011

Delhi's Queer Pride takes to the streets


Delhi Queer Pride Parade
Hundreds of people in colourful attire took to the streets in Delhi today lending their support to lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and transgenders.PTI | Nov 27, 2011, 09.00PM IST

NEW DELHI: Hundreds of people in colourful attire took to the streets here today lending their support to lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and transgenders (LGBT) and seeking end of discrimination against the community.


The candle-lit march from Barakhamba Road to Jantar Mantar saw LGBTs and supporters donning colourful masks and scarves, and carrying flags in support of the community. The parade has been organised as part of fourth edition of the Delhi Queer Pride 2011.


Cross-dressers in heavy sarees and salvar kameez with jewelry were also spotted at the venue, as supporters danced to the beat of drums and dholaks.

27 November 2011

New Australian passports allow third gender option

Australians have been given a third choice when describing their gender on passport applications, under new guidelines aimed at removing discrimination.

Transgender people and those of ambiguous sex will be able to list their gender as indeterminate, which will be shown on passports as an X.

15 May 2011

I love this video by MalenkyGoblin. Its so simple and the results are just fabulous. I loev to go out and look sexy!

08 May 2011

Measurements for a Saree Blouse/Choli!

Girls,
Here's how you can take measurements for stitching your saree blouses and cholis. Take them to a tailor and get them stitched.
:)

29 April 2011

Beauty tips: The secret of big hair

Sali Hughes explains how to puff the smallest strands into a full-on big-haired barnet.
I really love how simple it is do that with very little hassle and time. You would need to buy the Rotating Big Hair Dryer (the BaByliss 2775U seems to be a good one.) It works well on my hair. Tell me how it works for you girls. :)


Pakistan transgenders pin hopes on new rights

The BBC's Aleem Maqbool finds out what difficulties transsexuals face in Pakistan

There has been little opposition to the decision by Pakistan's Supreme Court to allow a third gender category, apart from male or female, on the national identity card. The BBC's Aleem Maqbool meets transgendered people in Karachi buoyed by the ruling, but sceptical about whether it can really end the isolation they face.
In the back streets, in a squalid neighbourhood of Pakistan's largest city, is a tiny, shabby apartment.
It is where we find "Shehzadi" getting ready for work.
Wearing a bright yellow dress, and scrabbling around her make-up box, she is doing her best to cover up her decidedly masculine features.
Shehzadi is transgendered: physically male, but psychologically female.
"When I was about six or seven, I realised I wasn't either a boy or a girl," Shehzadi says.
"I was miserable because I didn't understand why I was different. It was only when I met another 'she-male' that I felt peace in my heart and my mind."
Like so many other of the estimated 50,000 transgenders in Pakistan, Shehzadi left home as a teenager, to live with others from the same community.
"I'm happy being with other transgenders, but there are many problems," Shehzadi says. "People don't understand, and they abuse us. It's hard to get somewhere to live, or even to move about normally. I get teased when I stand and wait for a bus."
Separate identity Shehzadi also shows us her ID card. She is unhappy that it says "male."
But this is something that should soon change.
Remarkably for a conservative country like this, Pakistan is about to introduce a third gender category on its national identity cards.

“Start Quote

Ehsan ul Haq
Transgenders wanted recognition for their community. Why not reflect them as having a separate identity ”
Brigadier Ehsan ul Haq
"Previously, we were having two categories, male and female, for registration," says Brigadier Ehsan ul-Haq, who is in charge of the national database and registration authority in Karachi.
"But this community agitated for a separate identity of their own. They went to the Supreme Court, the court agreed and we will implement it."
Brigadier Ehsan says that to his knowledge there has been no opposition to the ruling, either within the registration authority or outside it.
"I personally feel it is a good decision by our highest court," he says. "Transgenders wanted recognition for their community. Why not reflect them as having a separate identity if it is biologically so?"
The reasons for a relative lack of opposition are complex. Despite the discrimination they face, transgenders have long been accepted as part of the fabric of Pakistani society.
Throughout the Indian sub-continent they have occupied a unique position since the era of the Mughal empire in the 16th Century, when they were given special roles in the royal court.
Pakistan is a Muslim nation and many will note that in Saudi Arabia, transgendered people were given the special role of guarding the Prophet Muhammad's tomb, as they were seen as exemplary devotees with no family ties.
Government jobs Although recognising the community as having its own gender will not solve all of the transgenders' problems, Pakistan's Supreme Court has made further recommendations.
Commonly in Pakistan, transgenders have either been entertainers, or sex workers, or beggars.
Transgenders in government jobs The court ruling says transgenders should be allocated a certain number of government jobs
The only contact most Pakistanis have with members of the community is at traffic lights across the country, where they tap on car windows, begging for money.
But Pakistan's Supreme Court now says that transgenders should also be allocated a certain number of government jobs.
It specifically recommended they be appointed as tax collectors to utilise their "special skills".
Those special skills are already on display in Clifton one of Karachi's most affluent neighbourhoods.
There Shehzadi joins a group of theatrically dressed, heavily made-up transgenders can be seen sometimes strutting down the wide, quiet, tree-lined streets.
"We knock on the doors of people who haven't paid their taxes," she says.
"We tell them to pay up, but there are some who don't, so we stand on their doorstep and give them trouble and make a spectacle. Then to stop us attracting attention, they pay. I love the job, life's going well!"
The experiment has been judged something of a success by the local authority, too, with Shehzadi's team collecting large amounts of unpaid dues.
Just a handful of transgenders have government jobs at the moment. For the vast majority, finding work is still tough.
It could just be that in Pakistan the lot of this isolated and often ridiculed community might just be getting a little bit better.
But in a moment of reflection, Shehzadi tells us of the things which can never be resolved through any kind of legislation.
"However much we say we are a close community, and call each other 'sister' and 'mother' it is still a lonely existence."
"Most don't have contact with their families, and, of course, they don't have children," Shehzadi says.
"Getting jobs and ID cards is great, but when I die, I know the community will have a party, spend all my money, and then it will be as if Shehzadi never walked on this earth."
"That will always be the reality of our life."

09 March 2011

Pondy transgender first to get unique identity

PUDUCHERRY: K Sheethal, the transgender from Puducherry who became the first person to be enrolled as a member of the third gender under the Unique Identification Number project, is elated that a government agency has finally recognised the community's gender status.

"The inclusion of third gender in census enumeration is the result of an untiring struggle. The members of the transgender community are not considered for any of the official documents like voters' identity cards and ration cards. We have been discriminated against by others. We had lost our identity and had no place to stay," 33-year-old Sheethal told TOI.

So far, members of the marginalized transgender community were being categorized as either male or female for administrative convenience' by all government agencies. Sheethal became the first transgender in the country to be enrolled as a member of the third gender when the Unique Identification Number project was launched in the Union territory on January 24 this year. Sheethal, formerly known as K Ganesh alias Rajesh, is also the president of Sahodaran', a community-based organization which has launched a male sexual health project in Puducherry. K Dharshini (26), another member of the organization, was enrolled next.

Sheethal, who established Sahodaran in 2003, has been working on creating awareness among transsexuals on AIDS, other sexually transmitted diseases, safe sex and safe blood transfusion procedures besides fighting for their rights.

Sahodaran was one of first organizations to form a self-help group comprising transsexuals. The SHG, which also formed a music troupe, has been hosting cultural programmes and presenting traditional folk art performances to spread the message on AIDS and safe sex.

"There are different views on alternate sexuality and transgender community. Many view them as abnormal. Transsexuals are shunned and looked down upon. Can a human being be forced to be obedient to the predominant model and abandon his free will?" Sheethal asked.

District collector G Ragesh Chandra told TOI that census enumeration was going on in full swing in 25 centres in the Union territory and revealed that Puducherry is the first territory in the country to recognize the transgender community and categorize them as members of third gender without classifying them as male or female.

"We propose to cover all transgenders under the project in the next six months. There are roughly about 2,300 transgenders in the Union territory," Chandra said.

appeared in the Times of India by Bosco Dominique, TNN | Mar 7, 2011, 04.34am IST