About Me

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Manchester, United Kingdom
Hello, I'm Aimee a young t-something from the UK. This blog charts my exploration of certain things that are of interest to me, most notably exploring my femininity and my interest in BDSM and all that fun stuff. Please enjoy my blog and let me know any thoughts and comments you have.

Tuesday 29 June 2010

Stuff and Stuff

Quite a bit is going on at the moment which is exciting and they're are a fair few things I have to be looking forward to. The big thing is of course Sparkle which is only two weeks away now (less actually eep!) I got an email from Leah True over the weekend who is one of the organisers containing some basic information about what will be happening for the Tranny of the Year competition. I guess Toty is an nice acronym, and 'Transgendered-person of the Year 'would be a bit of a mouthful, but I'm much more happy telling people I'm entering the 'Miss Sparkle' competition then the other thing. I've spoken to quite a few people off tvchix who are going and hoping to meet alot of new people while I'm there so I'm very excited. Several of my friends have cried of poor so I may not see them unfortunately. I can understand of course, the weekend has already set me back £100 and that's just for my dress and the room for two nights! I dread to think how much it will cost in the end but hopefully I can get a free drink or too at least.

The blog seems to be getting a nice amount of views, I'll be up to 40000 hits in a few days which is very exciting! Thank you to everyone whose made kind comments to me in chat rooms or in emails, it's great to know that people are reading and enjoying my writing. I'm still hoping that I'll get a few more comments but as long as people are reading I'm happy. In related news I now have my first follower of Twitter (http://twitter.com/AimeChanTG) so thank you to theeayatollah for following me, i promise to try and be even *more* interesting now!

My bottom is also feeling much better now which is nice. Hehe, I didn't get around to blogging about that actually but I went over to the barn the other weekend for one of the private parties and volunteered myself for single tail practice.

A single tail is a big whip, similar in ways to the Indiana Jones type that everyone imagines. One of the young Doms there wanted to try get some practice and as I had never tried one before I was more then happy to help out. The idea with a single tail is just to hit someone with the very end in a quick crack. You're not looking to beat the hell out of them (anyone could do that) but apply the right kind of swish to crack over the target area. I've been caned before (which really hurt) and used by paddles and floggers but the sensation of the single tail was very different. It did hurt but it didn't seem more then I could handle at any point. It was only when six suggested I pull down my tights that we realised the extent that my bottom had been cut open! It was nothing too drastic so don't worry, but the surface had been broken well over a dozen times and there were red welts across the skin. I actually though it looked quite pretty but it was defiantly time to stop.

Anyway, it's been a week now and I'm now and although they're are still some mark I'm mostly recovered. The sensation of a single tail was very different and I'm not sure I enjoyed the sensation of it as much as I have floggers but it was still nice to have been used as practice. I don't think I'll be volunteering again too soon, but at the same time I don't think I would necessarily turn down the opportunity.

Sunday 27 June 2010

Little Black Dress


Sparkle is only two weeks away now so I guess I better start the search for the classic LBD. Most of my wardrobe generally leans towards the goth/alternative part of the spectrum and I rarely go for the 'girly girl' look. The one exception of course is when I tried on an elegant corset for a photo shoot, but how good that looked took even me by surprise!

I've started looking through ebay, amazon and someone kindly recommended asos and they're seems to be some choices there. Due to my finances at the moment I'm having to limit my budget to under £25 so I shall have to see what I can find. Still, I'm collecting possibilities and will keep you up dated regarding what I choose.

Sunday 20 June 2010

Rope Bunny

The local munch has been having themed events of late which has been working really well. I am more then happy to sit down in a pub with a group of others and chat about BDSM related things but having a specific topic or theme to the munch add a focus as well as an opportunity to ask questions about things you may not have done. It also enables people to remember specific munches as opposed to everything merging together.

This months munch was rope themed and as many of my readers already know, they're are few things I enjoy more then being tied up. The workshop was led by a Dom from North Wales who brought a variety of different ropes which soon piled up on the table beside him. I tried not to be overly eager and give other people a chance to volunteer as demo bunny but it wasn't long before I found myself sitting on a stool with my hands tied behind my back.

I think there is something about the constriction of rope bondage that appeals to me. I like the fact that you are giving control over to another person and just the feel of the tightness of the rope against you're skin. The aesthetics are also very important to me and I was happy to have some photos taken to demonstrate the work.

We did a basic harness and arm bind and then I decided I should try and let someone else have a go so I hopped off the stool and got to admire watching the construction of a rope corset arm binder. One of the girls from the munch has a scarily high pain tolerance, some of the things she goes through would break me but she just giggles. The rope master placed a series of ties down both her arms before threading another rope through the looks like a corset. He then pulled them in so that the girls arms were squeezed back behind her back. She, of course, just giggled as her hand slowly turned purple.

She was find in the end of course, we always look out for each other and the munch is a very safe environment for trying out new things. Given the choice she would have probably happily stayed bound like that for longer but as her hands were now a darkening puce we thought it best not to let her.

It is an interesting point about the subbie mentality though and something Dom/mes should be aware of. We don't always know whats best for us and so Dom/mes should always be thinking about what is in the best interest of the subbie they are using and how much they can really take....more on this in a future blog...

Saturday 19 June 2010

New Hair

Hmmm seem to remember making an earlier post with exactly the same title before....am I really going through that much hair I wonder?

Anyway, in my last post I was telling you how I was in Manchester last weekend. Going to Lash and clubs and stuff is awesome, but at the same time I want to be able to walk down the street and hopefully not get too many funny looks. Sure, dressing is nice and fun, but really the whole point of it for me is passing.

One of the biggest tranny-tells (hmm, I like that phrase, a future article perhaps?) is the hair. Girls with their own hair look awesome. Girls without unfortunately normally don't. Sadly, for reasons I won't whine about here (read older posts if you really want to know my phoibles) I'm not able to grow my own hair which makes a decent wig an essential.

I have a few knocking around that I've picked up from various online sites, cheap ones sold at BBB and one I bought from a friend. However I figured if I was serious about passing I would need to buy a good wig, and I would need to buy it in person.

On the Saturday after Lash I went into Manchester with my friend. I'd seen a couple of wig shops before and thought that that would be a good place to start. I wore my normal wig as we walked through Manchester, dressed in an androgynous way so as not to draw attention. No one battered an eyelash so at least on that basic level I was more or less passable. We found a shop just around the corner from the Arndale (and near to Affleck's) and, taking a deep breath, we went in.

I was a little worried at first but I figured it's probably a lot easier to buy a wig when they can see that your transgendered then if you just go in in boi mode. That probably looks a little bit suss, but when they can see that you dress and aren’t embarrassed by the fact other people aren’t either. The shop assistant was very kind and helpful and my friend six was there too to give me a second opinion.

The selection wasn't massive and unfortunately there wasn't really anything close to my own colour (which is an auburn) but I was still able to find a colour which worked well with my completion. The first wig that I tried on had a really nice fringe and I liked it a lot however the second had a lot of potential with different things that could be done to it.

I was initially leaning towards the first one as it was a pretty cool contemporary cut that seemed easy to manage and maintain. However there wasn't really much you could do with it other than wear it how it was. I was a bit unsure initially about the second one as it seemed to require higher maintenance but as six and the shop assistant pointed out, there was a lot more that could be done with it.

The assistant, who was really helpfully and friendly throughout, showed me a few different styles that could be done with it, showing me how it could be worn up, or how different slides and accessories could be used. By the end I was sold. True, it wasn't the kind of wig you could just put on and go, but the quality of with wig and the amount that could be done with it made it exactly what I was looking for.

Thursday 17 June 2010

Lash Pic

I managed to get hold of a larger copy of the picture from Lash as promised. See, I do occasionally manage to get pictures up to document what I'm doing! Not the best pic but not to terrable for a snap shot either.

Monday 14 June 2010

Lash II


Well I've finally managed to get a pick up after all these weeks of promising. Ok, admittedly it's not the best pic, it’s a little small and my eyes are closed (not that you could really tell from the size of the file) but at least it is a picture all the same.

The picture was taken at Lash, a fetish night that happens in Manchester once a month and which I have blogged about once before previously. A larger version can be seen on Lash's website http://www.clublash.com/imgs/photos/2010/June/slides/DSC07202.html.

I wasn't sure if I was going until quite late. My friend six, who I know from the Chester munch, asked me if I was going and as I had nothing planned and she (it turned out) had two free tickets I thought that I might as well go.

I was busy during the day so we didn't get into Manchester until the early evening. We checked into our hotel, the place where I'll be staying for Sparkle, and I went upstairs to get changed before going out that evening. I had been a bit rushed in getting packed and so I just had a very basic outfit, a short red checked skirt which I wore with my red corset, shug and the boots I'd recently bought from BBB. It's an outfit I've worn a lot before and I defiantly know I need to get some new clothes.

After a drink or two in the bar we went across to the club which is only around the corner. We had met a couple in the hotel bar and there were another couple in the club who we knew, but for the most part I didn't know anyone in the club. A club night is quite different to a private party like some of the ones I have been to at the barn. The music is good and there is always at least a couple of people on the dance floor but it's always a little bit more difficult to strike up a conversation.

After a couple of hours (and a couple of drinks) I ended up talking to a tgirl called Si. At least I think she was a t-girl but it was a little difficult to tell. Si had a wonderful figure, a really cute skirt and some killer heels. But at the same time s/he wasn't wearing any make up that I could notice and had no bra or padding to give the impression of breasts. You get a whole range of people dressing, some want to be seen a blokes in skirts and others hope to be seen a girls. Si was somewhere in between so I wasn't sure how to refer to her.

Si mentioned that she was into shibari so I was quick as always to leap at any opportunity to get tied up. Lash has a play room which was empty for the most part of the night so we went through and played with an A-Frame. Si gave me a top tie, a loop of rope that bound the breasts nice and tight. After that though things get a little blurry and I'm not sure how many glasses of wine I had. I know that we did some CP too because my bottom is still aching a little bit and i think it was with some kind of cane or crop. It felt nice at the time whatever it was.

Sunday 13 June 2010

Scrapyard Challenge

Oh dear, I am getting behind with this blogging! I logged on to write about last night and then realised I hadn't gotten around to talking about last week yet! I guess I had better try and cover that before I move on. Oh well, the fact that I' having to try and keep up means that at least my life is almost interesting at the moment.

Last weekend the barn organised a Scrap yard Challenge initiative where teams were invited to come down and use the day to construct bondage apparatus from any odds and sods lying around or that they brought with them. Unfortunately I wasn't able to get down to the construction part (not that I'm the most practical person in the world anyway when it comes to making anything more complicated than a cup of tea) but I did manage to arrive in time to be a demo bunny.

The first shiny was an original piece of kit, a holding device of sorts where a victim volunteer is strapped into a standing frame. The frame itself tilts backwards meaning that at first you feel that you are going to topple over, but it was so well designed that I don't think this would have occurred. A strap around the waist and neck hold the subbie in place and their hands are then cuffed behind their back in a very vulnerable and open position for frontal play. Some pictures were taken of me trying this out and I will try and get hold of them to brighten up my blog a bit.

The second device was upstairs in the converted loft space of the barn. The building is listen which means that there are very strict rules about what you can and can't alter which means that original (or very early beams) dominate the upper levels compartmentalising the space into three or four chambers. At the far end was a bondage frame.

The novelty of this second device was that there was a cross on one side and a H shape on the other meaning that you could have two submissive strapped at the same time facing each other which could be very interesting. Also, although I think this was a happy coincidence as opposed to deliberate design, the frame looked as if it could be tilted on its axis to change the lay out so that, if you were carful, the Saint Andrew's cross part could be used as support for someone lying across the frame with space underneath for the Dom/me to get in and about.

The third device was pony themes so obviously that gave it some good plus points in my eyes from the start but unfortunately lacked some versatility perhaps. This final piece of equipment was a rocking pony where a stomach rest rose from the middle of a roughly semi-circular piece of wood. The sub would kneel over the central support and a saddle could then be strapped on. Once a rider climbed on it was then possible to rock backwards and forwards like riding a child’s toy.

I tried all three of these devices out with a couple of other girls and then we went to a side room to discuss which we thought deserved to win.

While I liked the rocking pony and found it quite original, it seemed much less like a finished product. The elements of bondage were loose and I feel that if the pony's hands and feet were strapped in it would be more effective. Also, and perhaps this was just from my perspective, I didn't feel an awful lot of rocking was going on when I was on it and felt a bit sea sick. An original idea perhaps but not necessarily very versatile so it came third.

The frame with the cross and the H came second. It was a very well made piece and looked very professional. There was a lot you could do on it for sure but at the end of the day I still felt it was a frame and though well constructed, didn't really seem to offer anything different.

The first device, the strapping frame which I apologise, I have described poorly, won out. While it perhaps did not have the versatility of the other frame there was still a lot that could be done with it. I would have like to have played with it properly to know if I would have tumbled backwards or not (or maybe I wouldn't) but it seemed to be very well made and secure and a couple of adjustable features means that it could snugly fit a wide range of people.

Right, I have to go. I have a lot more to write about but it shall have to wait. Thank you for reading and please do leave any feedback and comments.

Thursday 3 June 2010

transgenderfriends.com

I seem to have been doing ad-hoc reviews for some tg website the last couple of posts so I thought I'd do another one today. Just to come clean, I must confess that the reason I have been joining so many personal sits of late is to get a link to my blog out there (is that bad?) but it is an interesting experience.

Earlier this week I was looking at Gaydar, probably one of the most well known personal sites for people with alternative sexualities. These sites (because there are two different sites for guys and girls) are great. They're colourful, bold and have a great range of people. While they're are bonus features for members there is still a great amount accessible to free users.

The major problem however, from my perspective, is that it isn't very tgirl friendly. On both sites you only have the option of listing yourself as a woman or as a man and not the other or anything in between. I can understand that, because they probably don't want "bi guys" mailing bisexual woman who are on the site looking for other woman or visa versa. I totally understand why this has been done. However, it does mean that transgendered girls miss out on this wonderful main stream community and are often relegate sadly to fetish sites. It was the search for a main stream tg site that led me to transgenderfriends.com.

Now the blurb on the front page starts out well, telling us that this is a site for "transsexual personals, transvestites dating, transgenders and shemale." before further down asking "Do you wish to meet up with a transvestite, transexuals or shemales? We offer a full range of features that will make your search a pleasure?" This is where I think the site gets a bit confused as to what it's trying to be. Is it a site for tgs to find other tgs or for admirers to go tranny chasing?

Now I apologise to anyone associated with the site if this condemnation seems a bit harsh, but I will explain what informed this question. After a very commendable section of the front page about 'Who are Transvestites and Shemales' (again I'll avoid semantics here)There is a 'Search now!' option.

The options it gives you are I am/we are then male or cd/tv/ts. Now I don't mean here that there are four options. I mean that you can either say you are male, or you can say you are cd/tv/ts.

Now firstly that is quite a range clumped together there. I still do not know the difference between cd and tv but I know they are different to ts. It would be better having separate options for cd and tv (someone who dresses for fun), transgender (someone who sees themselves as being more female) and transsexual (someone who is diagnosed or in some process of grs). Not only would this give a distinction between different kinds of people using the site but would allow people to specify what they are looking for or how they describe themselves.

And the second problem with the "I am" button is there are no woman.

Now it is true that there are many more men looking for tgs then woman but they're are females out there and there are many tgs looking for woman. I also know from my experience on sites such as tvchix that many post-ops prefer to term themselves as 'women' and would not appreciate being defined as a cd/tv/ts when they have a vagina.

It raises the question; who is this website for?

More insight is given if you do join as the first page you get is a lady who looks suspiciously like a drag queen (feather boa, big hair, ball gown) saying "Come inside and share your darkest desires."

Once again I would like to congratulate the site for trying to impart understanding about transgendered people on its first page but this is one step forward, two steps back almost. Now for some people dressing and admiring is a sexy forbidden pleasure, however for many this is a stereotype that they wish to avoid. Now, is this site promoting itself as a fetish site, an adult site or a transgendered personal site? I really think the people running it need to decide one way or another because they're are some very confused signal.

Now I understand that the makers are probably trying to appeal to a broad church, get in the admirers, get in the fetishist and get in one or two transsexuals but I think it is possible to do this without resorting to the lowest common denominator.
My advice would be this, firstly to open up the options to differentiate between cd, tg and ts, throw some women in there as well as men and then you are truly opening up your audience. Now I know that many men find the thought of going with a t-girl homoerotic and that many people get turned on by dressing up and acting like a slut, but I feel these people will come to your site anyway without you having to specifically target them.

I do not wish to knock this site or see it taken down. It looks very nice (although I think they should have some more free options such as being able to see full sized pictures at least as a free user and not just thumb nails) and the UK's tg community needs sites like this however aim high, aim for the classy market and see what comes. I bet you membership will increase tenfold if you can get a good following of classy tg's to join up because frankly I'm afraid, at the moment I can see why some people may be put off.