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Your Innvestment |
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Vol. 9, No. 1 |
Sept., Oct. and Nov. 2000 |
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HOME PAGE - NEWSLETTERS - LINKS TO OTHERS - MEMBERS PAGE |
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Your Innvestment |
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Vol. 9, No. 1 |
Sept., Oct. and Nov. 2000 |
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September started the new season with meeting continued at the Ramada Inn in Hyannis. The evening got off to a good start with reports from the previous year. The best news of all was that we did not go into debt and still had some money in the bank. Elections took up the rest of the meeting. Other items discussed were the continuation of the Girls Nite Out program. This is having another night out where the girls can get together and take in a movie, go shopping, go bowling, etc. Also Candy indicated that she felt that someone else should take over the newsletter. She has been the editor since its inception and feels that she is running out of ideas and articles for the letter. No one indicated that they felt they could take it over but did agree to furnish articles for publication. Some planning for the Christmas party took place. Getting the entertainment was the most pressing problem. This was still being worked out by Candy and Noelle.
Julie elected not to run for President again as she had some pressing personal problems. The next automatic selection would have been for Denise to run, but due to her job now allowing her to back her bags and travel to far off exotic places, she indicated that she would run again only for Vice President. Nominations from the floor placed Noelle Rose in contention which she graciously accepted. The election selected the following individuals who will be placed into office at the Christmas party: President-Noelle Rose; Vice President-Denise S.; Treasurer-Brenda L.; Board Member-Candy S. and Julie W.
After the elections, the club picked up part of the tab for all individuals having supper in the hotel restaurant. This change in program (going to eat in the hotel dining room) has taken over the previous custom of having pizza and soda in the meeting area. The membership has indicated that adjourning to the dining room is preferred. Occasionally, pizza or some other food will be brought in, but for the most part eating in the dining room will take precedence.
A special questionnaire is being prepared for use by the new incoming President. We ask you to please fill this questionnaire out and bring it with you to the Christmas party. A special container will be available in which for you to place your answers.
Your
Innvestment is
a publication of Innvestments, P.O. Box 2194, Orleans,
MA.0 2653-2194. Innvestments is a non-sexual service organization
founded to support and to provide a socially acceptable outlet
for the crossdressing, transvestite, transsexual, transgendered
community located primarily in Southeastern Massachusetts, Cape
Cod and the Island. All rights reserved. Permission to reprint
any article appearing in Your Innvestment is hereby granted to non-profit similar
organizations provided that publication and authorship credit
is given. Any commercial use of Your Innvestment material
is hereby prohibited. Some material may have previously appeared
in print. Publication and authorship rights of material
reprinted from other sources remain with its originator. The editor/s
of Your Innvestment are not under any obligation to accept information
and advertisements. Information and advertisements may be published
in any form deemed acceptable. Any information about services,
products or sympathetic locations published in Your Innvestment
is not considered an endorsement of such by the staff of Your
Innvestment or the Board of Directors of Innvestments.
Innvestments is also know in open publications as Cape
Cod Cross Dressers.
Membership (including newsletter) is $30.00 per-year (pro-rated after January) with a $15.00 meeting fee. Meeting fees payable only for those attended. This pays meeting location fees charged to the group, and for pizza and soda or partial payment for food in the hotel dining room for all. Subscription only rates are $10.00 year
.
Advertising is placed in
the newsletter free of charge at discretion of the editor/s and
is not considered an endorsement by Innvestments.
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The joint Innvestments and Tiffany Club of New England Pool Party and Barbeque which took place at the Randolph Country Club was another success. The weather was borderline but nonetheless held. This did provide one consolation in that the "girls" pretty much had the place to themselves. Normally, the place would have been packed with regular patrons, especially around the pool. Because of the possibility of bad weather not many regular patrons were there. Again the food was good and a good time was enjoyed by all. If you haven't been to one of the pool parties, plan to attend next years event. It is a good chance to sport that new itsy bitsy teeny weenie yellow polka dot bikini.
Despite bad weather predictions all week, the day of the picnic proved that on Cape Cod, all you have to do is wait a minute. Despite the predictions, an excellent day for a picnic unfolded. This year instead of having to compete with several other groups for a good picnic site, we had our choices and took one nearer to the parking lot. After moving a couple of benches around the site was ready to go. Food this year was prepared by Elaine and cooked on site by Candy. Folks seemed to come this year in shifts. The first shift included Jennifer with her family. Jennifer's spouse, Joanne had just completed the annual Cape Cod Swim for Life for Breast Cancer in the lake next to the picnic area. This was the first year she had participated in this swim after being stricken with this disease. She took this challenge on and handily completed the one mile swim. After the swim the family came to the picnic and enjoyed. The second shift arrived shortly thereafter, also hungry and thirsty. After enjoying the food, a good afternoon was had by all.
This year was the 26th time
that the annual event took place. Although some provisions had
been made for Innvestments folks during previous years,
this year was really the first time that walk-in folks were accepted.
This allowed several of the Innvestments folks to come
down and participate. The program was well staffed and
some interesting discussions ensued. Several of the Innvestments
girls who could not attend the banquet on Saturday evening were
able to get together at one of the local restaurants and have
supper. This has been an event highly attended in recent years
and plans for Innvestments attendance at next year's event
were discussed. Several of the gals from Innvestments are
involved with the planning and execution of this event and they
indicate that there are enough other jobs for more gals to become
involved. Perhaps even an Innvestments sponsored scholarship
could be arranged. Food for thought.
Innvestments was once again blessed by having Joan and her spouse Pat host our annual event. This years party was once again a super success. Someone said that although everyone was together they could even hear the friendly ghost that is believed to reside in the famous house at work in the bedroom rearranging the pillows and coats laid across the beds.
It was a very busy evening with Joan showing off the house to those new folks who had not been to the party before and Pat making sure that everyone had plenty to eat and was feeling comfortable. This was all aided with Catherine (in a guy disguise) serving as the bar tender.
There were 29 folks in attendance with folks coming from way up on the North Shore to as far South as the other side of Providence R.I. Twins in pumpkin colored sweaters, twins as the Sari Sisters (and no, it was not a Sikh joke), two cat women, ballerina's, cowgirls and everything else you could imagine. costumes abounded with almost everyone being in one disguise or another. The regular prizes of something for the shortest skirt, the highest heels, the biggest/most hair and the best overall costume were the highlight of the evening. The shortest skirt went to Maggie S. who looked very fetching in her delicate pink outfit. Markie Robin took the highest heels while dressed as cat woman. She even had a tail that switched back and forth. The hair contest went to Patty......who came as Denise (while Denise came as Patty, a typical Texas cowgirl) and the overall best costume went to Diane who came as a bat, mask and all.
We want to give a special thanks to Joan and Pat for opening their home, their warmth and their generosity for sponsoring this event. It has developed into one of the nicest events that we have. The fact that most individuals come accompanied by their spouses or significant others more than proves this point. Thanks Gals, we really appreciate it!!!
With a new year almost upon us, we would appreciate it if you would take just a few minutes and give us some of your thoughts and ideas. This is your organization and we want to do the things that you want to attend, see, be a part of, etc.
Just a reminder that annual fees for the present season are now due. This is no change in our $30.00 annual fee. This money is what keeps us out of debt especially for the large parties and provides certain events free of charge. Dues may be paid at the Registration Desk during the Christmas on Cape Cod party on the 16th of December.
Articles are being solicited for the next newsletter. We need your participation to make our newsletter interesting to all. How about a story about the first time you went out or a short article on something funny that happened to you while you were out and about or even just around the house. Do not worry if it is rough. We can always help and clean it up for publication.
The name Innvestments was proposed at our first meeting some nine years ago by Crystal Raymond, who founded the organization. She used the INN from the Holiday Inn where we first met. This is still appropriate even though we now meet at the Ramada Inn. This was added to the word vestments which is what we wear. Viola....Innvestments. This name has stood us very well in that it describes who we are and if required should you be in a non-transgender environment, it can be used in everyday conversation without arousing suspicion.
An emblem was proposed during our fledgling months. A diamond which typified something precious (as we each are) was ultimately decided on. Trying to design one or find one that visually described what we wanted became a daunting task. We even had a professional cartoonist who is in the community come up with some diamond, as well as other ideas. This all came to naught. The current emblem presently displayed in the masthead of this newsletter caught on when it was found because it portrayed the diamond and within was the sun rising on a new day. This apply described just who we were....precious sunny persons looking forward to a new day.
NEW ORLEANS, LA - The American Civil Liberties Union today filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against grocery store giant Winn-Dixie on behalf of a heterosexual male truck driver who was fired because away from work he sometimes dresses in women's clothing and expresses a feminine identity.
Peter Oiler, 45, worked
for 20 years at Winn-Dixie, a top Fortune 500 company with more
than 1,100 grocery stores in 14 Southern states. Last year, after
Oiler's supervisors learned that he occasionally cross-dresses
off the job, he was fired.
By terminating Oiler because he did not conform to the company's
stereotyped notions of how a man ought to look and act, Winn-Dixie
violated state and federal laws that bar sex discrimination, the
ACLU contends.
"Peter Oiler followed all company policies, never violated the dress code and, most importantly, he did a good job and earned numerous promotions and raises," said Jennifer Middleton, staff attorney at the ACLU Lesbian and Gay Rights Project. "His termination strikes at the very core of why these civil rights laws exist - to keep bigotry and bias out of employment decisions."
While existing legal precedent says that employers cannot force people to conform to rigid gender stereotypes, today's lawsuit goes further by arguing that the ban on stereotyping protects gender-variant people. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Louisiana, seeks unspecified damages as a result of lost wages and emotional distress.
"I never expected Winn-Dixie to approve of my personal life or to punish me for it - I just never thought it had any bearing on how I do my job," Oiler said. "Losing the job I've had for practically my entire adult life has been a difficult ordeal, and I'm grateful for the loving support of my wife and the transgender community in Louisiana that has stood by us steadfastly."
Oiler, who has been married for more than 23 years, has known since childhood that his gender identity is not stereotypically male. He cross-dresses to express his femininity. Like many people who are gender- variant in some way, Oiler was outcast earlier in life and consequently kept his identity secret until coming out as transgendered to close friends and family in 1996.
"Peter Oiler's experience is relatively common. What's uncommon is that he is open and honest about who he is, and that he's standing up to one of America's largest corporations and demanding to be treated fairly," said Joe Cook, Executive Director of the ACLU of Louisiana.
Last month, a police officer in North Carolina was forced out of his job because he cross-dresses away from work, according to the ACLU. The International Foundation for Gender Education estimates that 75 percent of cross-dressers are heterosexual men, many of whom are married. Gender nonconformance occurs in people of different sexual orientations, marital statuses and sexes.
"Most people defy gender stereotypes, sometimes subtly - like women who ride motorcycles or men who wear earrings -- and sometimes more obviously," Cook said. "Peter Oiler cross-dresses because of his deeply held gender identity -- but if he can be fired, even people who cross-dress as part of a Halloween costume can lose their jobs."
Of the more than two dozen municipalities that bar transgender discrimination, some only allow off-the-job gender expression and others broadly prohibit gender stereotyping. An ordinance recently passed in New Orleans protects cross-dressing away from work, but the Winn-Dixie branch that fired Oiler is located just outside that jurisdiction.
J Noelle Rose took in the recent appearance of Kate Bornstein in a lecture hall at Harvard's Graduate School of Education. There were a couple of hundred folks in attendance where she was well received. Our Noelle asked her to autograph one of her books that Noelle had brought with her. Noelle had taken the bus from the Cape to Boston and spent the day shopping before taking in the lecture.
J Our own Marsha did it again. She performed with her horn in the Fantasia Fair Follies. Her outfit was a complete nurses uniform, cap and all, and her trademark performance left the audience screaming for more.
J It was really neat to see so many of the wives and significant others at the Halloween party. Remember, the girls are welcome any time. It was also good to see them at the picnic and at some of the public events at Fantasia Fair.
J Our Austrian member, Suzanne has been vacationing here in the States for a month to six weeks. She was at our November meeting. I spent the next day with her and we checked out some places for some light shopping. Also drove up to Carolann's where she picked up some jewelry to take back home to the family. Retired life is suiting her just fine.
J During Girls Nite Out we have taken in some good movies. This month there were just Noelle, Candy and Erica. Brenda had to unexpectedly work late so she could not attend. How about some more girls joining us next month??? We have never had a problem and have seen several good films and generally some of us get a bit to eat after the flick.
L We were sorry to learn of the passing of Debbie Ann Shaw from the Sunshine Club in the Western part of the state. Debbie had been sick for a very long time. Some of the girls and I used to visit her when she was hospitalized in Boston. Debbie was president of their club for a long time and was always involved in doing something for the community, even when she became confined to a wheel-chair. Her spirit, her energy and her confidence will be missed by all who knew her. May she rest in peace.
J If you are interested in attending a performance of The Phantom of the Opera at the Wang Theater in Boston for Girls Nite Out in January, please leave your name at the Registration Desk at the Christmas Party.
L We recently learned that should you use a room telephone from our favorite Ramada Inn, you will be charged an outrageous price....like $6.00 per minute. Most of the Ramada's have changed their telephone servers to some unknown company that costs bunches. Please be forewarned should you be using the phone while at the Christmas party or even during a meeting.
for the Fashion Show.It was all ears during the November meeting when Carolann from Model's Resale came to the Cape to speak to the group. Carolann, a long time Innvestments member and friend to the community owns and operates one of the best upscale consignment shops within the State. She has assisted Innvestments with many endeavors. She came to the Cape early and had dinner with us in the dining room before the meeting. During the meeting she captivated all in attendance with her show and tell which concentrated on accessories.
Accessorizing can do wonders
for an outfit. Carolann brought with her 2 basic sheath dresses,
one black and the other a blue velvet. In moments, she had transformed
each of these from a plain dress for the work place into one with
some classy pizzazz. The use of a dressy jacket, a shawl, a scarf,
and bits of jewelry changed the dresses into something that could
leave the office and go to a party. Along with 2 skirts, she had
everyone mixing and matching in their minds. It is always a pleasure
to have Carolann present at our meetings. Her hints and tips are
upbeat and stylish and gives us many ideas on how to better utilize
our wardrobes. Thanks. It was a special evening. After the presentation
we again all went to the dining room for snacks and libations.
If you were not there you missed an excellent presentation.
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A special room rate for Innvestments of $44.00 is being offered for those individuals who desire to stay over at the Ramada Inn. At this special price it is felt that the rooms will go rapidly so please call today and make your reservations. Call the Ramada Inn at the following numbers: 508+775-1153; or toll free at 800:676-0000 or 888+CAPE-398. Be sure to mention the Innvestments Christmas Party.