VIDEO SHOWCASING THE TRANSGENDER BEAUTIES WHO USE TO GRACE THE HARLEM BALLROOM SCENE BACK IN THE DAY

you can see several clips of me throughout the video also

[Edited 4/24/12 14:34pm]

Welcome to the Org. All these women are gorgeous.

I have the maddest respect for anyone who manifests the inner feminine in their lives.

SupaFunkyOrgangrinderSexy said:

I have the maddest respect for anyone who manifests the inner feminine in their lives.

I do too. I also respect that they have the courage to be who they KNOW they are even in the face of ridicule and hatred. Case in point...my granddaughter who used to be my grandson. I was the first one he told because he was too terrified to tell my daughter. it took a while for some of the family to accept her. He contemplated suicide but I gave him all the support he needed to become who SHE really was inside. I was there through the hormone injections, the breast implants, etc.

When he was only 5 or 6 people began calling him names...you know the references. He was very sensitive and people hurt him.

But now she is happy, beautiful, and loving her life. And I love her!

Before---Khalil

On the far left in these...

After---Khaliyah (on the right)

The same 3 in 2011

[Edited 3/18/12 14:33pm]

April, God put you on Earth to be an angelic force in peoples lives <3 So much love to you for acceptance and loving. Beautiful beatiful

SupaFunkyOrgangrinderSexy said:

April, God put you on Earth to be an angelic force in peoples lives <3 So much love to you for acceptance and loving. Beautiful beatiful

Richard, it doesn't take anything special to just love. People hurt each other for no other reason than that they can. When it all boils down to just love. I had a 'falling out' as they call it down south with his other grandmother and his father. They are both very homophobic and began calling him the F word when he was so young. He went to spend the summer with her in South Carolina and he called crying that he wanted to come home (to Chicago). When I asked him why he said his grandmother and his father were calling him names and saying they weren't going to let him grow up as a sissy. They locked him up in the house because they thought he was flirting with a boy. This was way before he transformed.

I was so furious I sent him a plane ticket to come home and didn't even tell them he was leaving. I had a friend of mine pick him up and take him to the airport.

I haven't communicated with them since. What kind of person does that to their child and grandchild???

I am living for this thread.

noimageatall, your granddaughter is absolutely beautiful and I am really thrilled that she's got such a loving grandmother.

Because of my passion for the harlem ball scene, I was exposed to people in the midst of transitioning pretty early in my "out gay life". I may have posted a picture or 2 here of me with some of my ladyfrienz.

I have the utmost respect and love for drag queens, kings, transpeople, and all things queer and queer-adjacent.

[Edited 3/18/12 14:52pm]

noimageatall said:

SupaFunkyOrgangrinderSexy said:

I have the maddest respect for anyone who manifests the inner feminine in their lives.

I do too. I also respect that they have the courage to be who they KNOW they are even in the face of ridicule and hatred. Case in point...my granddaughter who used to be my grandson. I was the first one he told because he was too terrified to tell my daughter. it took a while for some of the family to accept her. He contemplated suicide but I gave him all the support he needed to become who SHE really was inside. I was there through the hormone injections, the breast implants, etc.

When he was only 5 or 6 people began calling him names...you know the references. He was very sensitive and people hurt him.

But now she is happy, beautiful, and loving her life. And I love her!

Before---Khalil

On the far left in these...

After---Khaliyah (on the right)

The same 3 in 2011

[Edited 3/18/12 14:33pm]

Oh my God, she's BEAUTIFUL!!!!

Wow, April. You make me want to cry. You are so beautiful.

Spinlight said:

I am living for this thread.

noimageatall, your granddaughter is absolutely beautiful and I am really thrilled that she's got such a loving grandmother.

Because of my passion for the harlem ball scene, I was exposed to people in the midst of transitioning pretty early in my "out gay life". I may have posted a picture or 2 here of me with some of my ladyfrienz.

I have the utmost respect and love for drag queens, kings, transpeople, and all things queer and queer-adjacent.

[Edited 3/18/12 14:52pm]

Thank you, spin. You should post the pics again. I don't think I remember seeing them.

lauralevesque said:

Oh my God, she's BEAUTIFUL!!!!

Thank you, laura...I think so too.

This is my alter-ego and hero.

OnJenae said:

VIDEO SHOWCASING THE TRANSGENDER BEAUTIES WHO USE TO GRACE THE HARLEM BALLROOM SCENE BACK IN THE DAY

you can see several clips of me throughout the video also

That's you at :34 right? Beautiful!!!

But I noticed at the end of the video many of the ladies had RIP after their names.

Vendetta1 said:

Wow, April. You make me want to cry. You are so beautiful.

Awww....you are too, Ivy. I swear this summer when I come back to Chicago we're going to go to some kind of concert! (Damn Morris Day to hell)

Deadcake said:

April, she is exquisite!!!

Thank you.

noimageatall said:

But I noticed at the end of the video many of the ladies had RIP after their names.

i saw that 2 so sad!!!!

they are all beautiful ladies

She is gorgeous April ! It is so wonderful that you supported her the way you did . It should be a given that family members support their loved ones through struggles like that, but sadly it is not and I hope you and her can be role models for others who are making similar experiences .

1. @OnJenae.....Welcome to the org and thank you for starting this thread. I wish you were an orger earlier around the time I had a previous thread about transgender women.

The Transgender Women Appreciation Thread

http://prince.org/msg/100/357692

2. @noimage.....Your granddaughter in the last picture.........hot damn!

[Edited 3/19/12 9:32am]

lauralevesque said:

noimageatall said:

I do too. I also respect that they have the courage to be who they KNOW they are even in the face of ridicule and hatred. Case in point...my granddaughter who used to be my grandson. I was the first one he told because he was too terrified to tell my daughter. it took a while for some of the family to accept her. He contemplated suicide but I gave him all the support he needed to become who SHE really was inside. I was there through the hormone injections, the breast implants, etc.

When he was only 5 or 6 people began calling him names...you know the references. He was very sensitive and people hurt him.

But now she is happy, beautiful, and loving her life. And I love her!

Before---Khalil

On the far left in these...

After---Khaliyah (on the right)

The same 3 in 2011

[Edited 3/18/12 14:33pm]

Oh my God, she's BEAUTIFUL!!!!

OMFG SHE IS FUCKING GORGEOUS IN THE BALLROOM COMMUNITY SHE could walk face, sex siren , fem queen realness,shit maybe even vogue and i love that she is so natural looking these days the girls carve there faces up and look like clowns

you have a beautiful granddaughter and she is lucky to have such an accepting family if my family was as accepting maybe i would have not turned to escorting, maybe i would have never went down the path of drugs, maybe i would have been different your granddaughter is lucky most of us didnt come from families who accepted us

i was thrown out on the streets when i was 10 years old nad i've had to fend for myself ever since then

Vendetta1 said:

Welcome to the Org. All these women are gorgeous.

yes they are

two died from hiv and the other had hiv but died from cancer in the 90s hiv/aids killed alot of my sisters and friends even thought we had smiles on on faces some of these chicks were literally wasting away in real time before our eyes

three of the ladies are dead

jennifer legend (r.i.p 1996)

octavia st.laurent (r.i.p 2009)

and danielle revlon (r.i.p 1999/2000)

here is a video of me walking against my 20 year rival onjenae back in 1993

[youtube]http://youtu.be/_2gnBH_uPXw[/youtube]

[Edited 3/19/12 14:45pm]

[Edited 3/19/12 14:48pm]

TonyVanDam said:

1. @OnJenae.....Welcome to the org and thank you for starting this thread. I wish you were an orger earlier around the time I had a previous thread about transgender women.

The Transgender Women Appreciation Thread

http://prince.org/msg/100/357692

2. @noimage.....Your granddaughter in the last picture.........hot damn!

[Edited 3/19/12 9:32am]

aww thats cool a transgender appreciation thread

with all the hurtful things people say about transgender women and the fact recently there has been a increase in attacks,rapes,murders of latina & african american transgender women its nice to see some open minded people in the world

OnJenae said:

Vendetta1 said:

Welcome to the Org. All these women are gorgeous.

yes they are

two died from hiv and the other had hiv but died from cancer in the 90s hiv/aids killed alot of my sisters and friends even thought we had smiles on on faces some of these chicks were literally wasting away in real time before our eyes

three of the ladies are dead

jennifer legend (r.i.p 1996)

octavia st.laurent (r.i.p 2009)

and danielle revlon (r.i.p 1999/2000)

here is a video of me walking against my 20 year rival onjenae back in 1993

[youtube]http://youtu.be/_2gnBH_uPXw[/youtube]

I didn't notice that that was you in the video. You are so beautiful, holy crap.

Many ladies have died, but many still live! Carmen Xtravaganza, I last saw some recent pics of her a couple years ago. She looked great after all these years!! And I was also happy to see Freddie Pendavis, Junior Labeija, and Jose Xtravaganza are still kickin around too (though not femme queens, still legendary to the ball scene).

I was sad when I heard Octavia had passed, but I know she had been dealing with her illness longer than most!

Spinlight said:

OnJenae said:

yes they are

two died from hiv and the other had hiv but died from cancer in the 90s hiv/aids killed alot of my sisters and friends even thought we had smiles on on faces some of these chicks were literally wasting away in real time before our eyes

three of the ladies are dead

jennifer legend (r.i.p 1996)

octavia st.laurent (r.i.p 2009)

and danielle revlon (r.i.p 1999/2000)

here is a video of me walking against my 20 year rival onjenae back in 1993

[youtube]http://youtu.be/_2gnBH_uPXw[/youtube]

I didn't notice that that was you in the video. You are so beautiful, holy crap.

Many ladies have died, but many still live! Carmen Xtravaganza, I last saw some recent pics of her a couple years ago. She looked great after all these years!! And I was also happy to see Freddie Pendavis, Junior Labeija, and Jose Xtravaganza are still kickin around too (though not femme queens, still legendary to the ball scene).

I was sad when I heard Octavia had passed, but I know she had been dealing with her illness longer than most!

OnJenae said:

Vendetta1 said:

Welcome to the Org. All these women are gorgeous.

yes they are

two died from hiv and the other had hiv but died from cancer in the 90s hiv/aids killed alot of my sisters and friends even thought we had smiles on on faces some of these chicks were literally wasting away in real time before our eyes

three of the ladies are dead

jennifer legend (r.i.p 1996)

octavia st.laurent (r.i.p 2009)

and danielle revlon (r.i.p 1999/2000)

here is a video of me walking against my 20 year rival onjenae back in 1993

Absolutely classy and gorgeous!!!!

OnJenae said:

lauralevesque said:

Oh my God, she's BEAUTIFUL!!!!

OMFG SHE IS FUCKING GORGEOUS IN THE BALLROOM COMMUNITY SHE could walk face, sex siren , fem queen realness,shit maybe even vogue and i love that she is so natural looking these days the girls carve there faces up and look like clowns

you have a beautiful granddaughter and she is lucky to have such an accepting family if my family was as accepting maybe i would have not turned to escorting, maybe i would have never went down the path of drugs, maybe i would have been different your granddaughter is lucky most of us didnt come from families who accepted us

i was thrown out on the streets when i was 10 years old nad i've had to fend for myself ever since then

Oh no...thrown out on the street? That's horrible. I can't fathom how people can do that to their own children.

Not all the family was accepting. That's why she thought about suicide. I'm just glad I was there.

And she does go to the balls in Chicago. I was supposed to make her a gown before I left but I didn't get to.

Serious said:

She is gorgeous April ! It is so wonderful that you supported her the way you did . It should be a given that family members support their loved ones through struggles like that, but sadly it is not and I hope you and her can be role models for others who are making similar experiences .

We are all here to love. That's all. All the other garbage on the planet doesn't matter. If we can get past the judging and the holier-than-thou bullshit, we'd be much better off.

Khaliyah is beautiful-I hope she is happy

OnJenae said:

Spinlight said:

I didn't notice that that was you in the video. You are so beautiful, holy crap.

Many ladies have died, but many still live! Carmen Xtravaganza, I last saw some recent pics of her a couple years ago. She looked great after all these years!! And I was also happy to see Freddie Pendavis, Junior Labeija, and Jose Xtravaganza are still kickin around too (though not femme queens, still legendary to the ball scene).

I was sad when I heard Octavia had passed, but I know she had been dealing with her illness longer than most!

yes octavia was a fighter and she went down swinging i remember when hiv first came around it seemed like as soon as one of the girls found out they had the virus they would literally waste away in months sometimes even weeks but not octavia she fought it long and hard she also battled cancer it was sad seeing her walk her last ball she was in so much pain, had shaved off all her hair and you can see her will figght to fight was all gone i miss her carmen xtravaganza is gorgeous and one of the oldest living girls in the entire ballroom scene its good to see some of the girls actually make it to 60 i love her and she is proof that a transgender women can accomplish anything and i love jose xtravaganza and junior labeija lol junior usae to crack me up with his shady ass always reading the girls

I love watching videos of Junior - he is hiiiiilarious. The people who walk now and walked then in the ball scene are some of my heroes. Both as a human and as a gay man. The bravery, tenacity, and strength of will displayed by a queen walking to snatch a trophy is inspiring to me.

I've not been to NY in many years, but the first thing I'd do upon planning a trip would be to see if any balls were being held. I don't even know what I would do if I met Carmen Xtravaganza in person - probably piss my pants in excitement (and then cry from humiliation, hahaha).

Of course my sig here on the org has always been my favorite Dorian quote from Paris Is Burning.

SupaFunkyOrgangrinderSexy said:

I have the maddest respect for anyone who manifests the inner feminine in their lives.

[If you got nuffin nice to say then don't say nuffin at all snip - luv4u]

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