Interview: America’s First Crossdressing Mayor

Stu Rasmussen, a lifelong resident of Silverton, Oregon, was recently reelected for his third term as mayor. This time, however, he campaigned in heels. We spoke with Stu about his career, his relationship with 30-year partner Victoria Sage, and being an out transgendered elected official.

Six must-haves for every crossdresser’s bookshelf

A wealth of non-fiction for crossdressers and their loved ones has slowly crept into bookstores since the early ‘90s, providing stories, secrets and academic dissections on what it means to be a crossdressing man in our society. Listed below are six of the most helpful, thought-provoking, and entertaining titles out there. Best of all, you can grab all these books online or in stores like Barnes & Noble… and a few, like Vested Interests: Cross-dressing and Cultural Anxiety by Marjorie Garber, might even be waiting for check-out at your local library. (I know I was pleasantly surprised to see it there!) Better get cracking — you have some catching up to do!

The Wedding Industry…enforcing positive body image?!

While the fight to balance industry conventions with indie ingenuity rages on, for now I can simply thank David’s Bridal for helping me see the things that have always been beautiful about myself. An unexpected self-esteem boost courtesy of the people who’ve always done me wrong.

Movies You May Have Missed: Penelope

Upon her 18th birthday, her good-intentioned parents proceed to set her up with every aristocratic male in the land, which only results in a lot of broken windows — a direct result of the shallow suitors who defenestrate themselves in terror at the sight of her delicate porcine features.

Net-fairing

I’m not very good at picking out holiday gifts. I’m the dreaded giver of itchy socks, ugly ties, lumpy sweaters and occasionally my own badly-written poetry. Which is why I was so pleased with myself when I started shopping online for other people’s homemade gifts and found these unexpectedly hip Upcycled Starbucks Card Mosaic Coasters for my sister’s new house at Etsy.com. But it didn’t end there: By 4 a.m. the next morning, I had 37 items on my wish list and vowed to revisit year round for birthdays, anniversaries and personal shopping binges.