Candy Darling, the transgender superstar of the early seventies

Cheryl has written a great piece on Candy Darling,  the transgender superstar that influenced the alternative scene of the late 1960s and early 1970s. She was a friend of people like Andy Warhol and Lou Reed.

Cheryl writes:

Andy cast her in 'Flesh' (1968) and 'Women in Revolt' (1971). Candy also had some cameo appearances in 'Klute' with Jane Fonda and 'Lady Liberty' with Sophia Loren. Candy tried hard to obtain the lead role in 'Myra Breckinridge' (1970) but lost out to Raquel Welch. She also obtained parts in some independent films such as, 'Silent Night, Bloody Night', 'Some of My Best Friends Are...' and 'Brand X'.

Read the blog post here: Transsexual Superstar Candy Darling

Sex Change in RPGs

Rani Baker has written an interesting article on gender bending in tabletop role playing games throughout the ages: “Is Every Woman Here A Sex Change?” — Trans In Cyberpunk RPG

Here is a relevant quote:

But in the 90s, the cyberpunk genre emerged to dust off these Atomic Age artefacts and carefully lay a patina of grunge over them, showcasing them between images of shock value fetish and surprisingly accurate speculation on an internet culture that was barely beginning to exist. Atomic Age fascination with transsexuals as a form of body augmentation fared no differently. The genre, with it’s focus on self-identity, chaos and tech, seemed to go hand in hand with tabletop and computer role-playing, and many series developed congruently with their spin-off RPGs. Hell, even Infocom, the makers of Zork, released a computer game where you could do drugs and hook up with transsexual strippers.

More here!