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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 1, 2003)
a sense of betrayal around secrets being kept,” she says, referring to family secrets of any nature. A ngela exploring th a t side of herself “as long as th ere’s no secrets.” In th e b e d r o o m Opportunity for personal growth or all the couples, the transition affected their sex lives, some for the better, some not. Sue says their sex life has improved. “We rarely hop into bed and spend less than two hours,’’ she says. “We’ve always had a fairly non- traditional sexual relationship. We’ve had a lot of sexual contact that didn’t involve penetra tion. We do a lot of cuddling. T he quality has not lessened.” In fact, Angela enjoys sex more, and the quality of her orgasm has improved. An! says that Theresa’s sex drive has less ened since she started hormones and that her partner often does not want sex. “And dang, 1 do!” Ani exclaims. Because they have an open relationship, Ani knows she hits other options, if she chixses to act (in them. She says that the frequency hits decreased hut that the sex is better now that Theresa is more honest with herself. “She’s more into exploring her own sexuality and sen suality. She’s more present in her body,” Ani adds. Bodies change from hormones. Pam was attracted to Markie’s manliness and says: “We were really hot sexually, like five times a week ost couples say th a t h a v ing a p artn er go through such a big transform a tion forced them to look at their own lives. “W h en you’re being c h al lenged to look at w ho you are as a couple, it challenges who you are as an individual,” says Sue, noting how h er ow n self-confi dence has grown. A n overw eight woman, she has started to wear clothing th at shows off her cleav age a little, even though she has never worn anything like th at previously. “I’m a b etter and hap pier Sue because A ngela is a b et ter and happier A ngela,” she says. Both D evan and Brenda are com m itted to educating others. “W h ich is fortunate,” she says, “because going through transition, you co n stantly have to answer people’s questions.” Pam knows she hasn’t quite grasped the les son she is supposed to leam from all this. "It’s so good to have a connection in life that you real ly value, what does it matter if I call him she? In the big picture it doesn’t, but I’ve got a small part of myself that says it matters to me.”j n M for a year and a half.... [Now] I just don’t respond to him the way 1 d id.... We never stopped having sex. It’s just kind of dulled down.” Som e people w ho change gender will also change sexual o ri entation. For some couples this could mean an end to the relationship, hut it doesn’t have to he. Some couples may choose to stay together and not he sexual. Or, says W olmark, couples may chose to explore polyamory. For instance, Sue says A ngela has expressed a new a ttrac tion for men. She says she can live with Fine Arts & Crafts Festival Labor Day Weekend August 30 & 3 1 | September 10 -I fifF | Saturday & Sunday 10am-6pm Monday 10am-5pm j KATHY B elge is a Portland free-lance writer. S um m er P la n t S ale W e re m o v in ’ t h e n u r s e r y a n d h a v e t o LIGHTEN THE LOAD* ONE GALLON CANNAS $5 B la c k K n ig h t ’ R e d K in g H u m b e r t ’ W y o m in g ’ H a r d y B a n a n a s M u sa s ik k im e n s is ft M. b a s j o o H a r d y F l o w e r in g G in g e r s HEDYCHIUM a ALPINIA— m a n y s p e c ie s AND HYBRIDS A l s o : E ucalyptus seedling s . H ardy O rchids . U nusual perennials TWO WEEKENDS ONLY A ugust 9 ft 10 a n d 1 6 ft 17 1 o am to 5 pm O r c h is N u r s e r y D ale S ullivan 7 5 1 1 SE H arold S treet P ortland . OR 97206 Free Admission Over 100 national & regional artists Performance stage Artist demos When an ordinary Realtor simply won't do... Vladimir Ovtcharov Mixed Media Peggy Cochran Jewelry Visit us online at: www.reyreece.com or schedule your appointment U#r « ■ ' Llpive with Pride Laurie Hennig Ceramics 503 256-3700 - www.dim batrw.com 3144 SE Belmont Portland, OR 97214 office: 503-238-7617 \W Park murks Between Burnside and Glisan Portland. Oregon www.artmthepearl.com hirtland ì rimine X m t) _ \$ & / T R I & M E T REY REECE DEALERSHIPS VOLKSWAGEN-MITSUBISHI-USED 122nd & East Burnside www.reyreece.com
