Keystone - the 'why' of it

[Jenniferathome]

Many members here attended the Keystone event a few weeks back. Now that the bloom is off the rose so to state, I wanted to ask those in attendance why this was great/good/average.... My questions are simplistic, so if you want to make some other answer please do. I am just curious but of course, I have my opinions.

1) Is it that you learned something new from seminars or workshops about cross dressing?

what might that be?

2) Is it that Keystone afforded you opportunity to be "out" ? To be a "day walker"?

3) Something else?

thanks

[Heidi Stevens]

Hi, Jennifer! As members well know, I attended my first Keystone this year. I had been to the Erie Gala a few months earlier and while it was a fantastic time, Keystone was on the level of a masters or doctorate program compared to Erie.

Keystone has the parties and the trips and the outings that most of the gatherings for transgendered and cross dressers have around the country. What puts Keystone on a different level is the list of guest speakers, the courses offered and the services provided. Offered over three days were courses on deportment, what happens in surgeries to alter your appearance, how to handle work environment and so on. Keystone had actual doctors at the conference to answer questions to your thoughts of transitioning or making alterations to your body.


I may have been a first timer, but I was able to help ladies who were experiencing they're first time out. It was during a morning get together, held each day in the lounge, that those needing help were given personal advice and guidance to find the best place for answers. There was also a specific program that ran the whole conference to help those who were coming public for the first time.

I attended courses on deportment (how to present to others as a lady), how to defend myself while out in public, how to take better photos of myself, how to dine like a lady, and information on wardrobe. There were a couple of education slots in the morning and two or three in the afternoon every day. For those who could not attend all week, a lot of the courses were repeated on Saturday. You could not attend every thing you wanted to attend because the choices were to many!

On the fun side, we had dining trips into town and to the Casino most nights. We had some in house fun with dancing, karaoke and bingo pizza parties! Plus Hershey World was just 15 minutes away. (Chocolate? I'm there!) I got the chance to meet folks from this forum. We all got to put a real person with the pictures. And of course, we did a lot on our own.

Bottom line is this is how a conference should be run. A well mix of instruction, entertainment and just plain old fun with friends in a caring atmosphere! Over 750 people attended this year, so something must be going right.
I've talked my ob/gyn into looking hard at going next year. She's as green at treating transgenders as most physicians are. I told her how many of her peers with knowledge are there for them as much as us ladies.

I will be back next year!

[steftoday]

Heidi described it perfectly. This was my second time, and it felt even more natural this time around.

For Trans people, as Heidi described, there's just tons of resources. For CDs and anyone that wants to improve their makeup, or hair, or mannerisms, there are people there that do all that.

It's very reaffirming, and it does leave a "hole" when it's over. What's also amazing is the conference itself doesn't cost an arm and a leg, either. The hosting hotel staff is wonderful to the attendees, too.

The gender therapist I have seen suggested I attend a conference like this. She was right; being among like minded people was exactly what I needed.

[Georgette_USA]

My take on Keystone may be quite different from most.

Being a long time post MtF TS, at first I thought why bother. So much of a been there done that attitude. I decided at last minute to go as I knew some 30-40 others that were going. They are a mix of CDs/TGs/TSs with many different views on what they wanted out of Keystone.

There were a lot of activities for the generic CDs. There were presentations for CDs and the more active TG/TS also. I attended some of the TS presentations on surgeries and hormones available. To get a more recent view on all new out there. Knew some and met others of the presenters.

Have to admit did a little too much partying with friends. Close the bar at night and then get up at 7 for new activities. The daily luncheons and guest speakers were good. Tried to meet as many new people as possible.

Forgot, I had hoped to meet someone that transitioned years ago. I did find one she did hers in 1983 at 29. Wished I could talk with her more. Our attitudes on all this new were the same.

[Sometimes Steffi]

This was my fifth time there, and many of the seminars have been repeated over the years. And honestly, some of the seminar leaders are so great that I've gone back to see them year after year, even if they say the same thing, because they say it so well. Take Monica Prata, for instance. She has seminars in deportment, including walking like a girl, standing like a girl, sitting like a girl and dressing like a girl. She always does the guy walk followed by the girl walk. And she is just so amazingly right on. There's much more that I could say, but you just have to see it in person.

Another of my favorite presenters in Jen and her wife. I met Jen at my first Keystone, and I thought she was just a crossdresser. Today, she is a full time woman and still married to her (cis) wife. Last year she talked about how she managed to successfully transition at home, at work, at her church and in her bowling league. One of the things she said was that she used to fall asleep as a boy, praying to wake up as a girl. I told her that her prayers came true, but 30 years later than she had hoped. This year she talked about how well everything was going for her, and that she even interviewed (and got) a new job as a girl. And, since she needed a DoD clearance, it couldn't totally be hidden under her dress.

Each night, there were planned outings at local restaurants, bars and the casino. It's very empowering to walk into a cis restaurant with 30 or 40 non-cis girls. And, even though we had separate tables, there were still a lot of muggles there. But, we still basically "owned" the restaurant.

And Saturday night is the Gala Ball. It's really amazing to see so many girls in so many outstanding dresses and gowns. Yes, there were some "ringers" (i.e., SOs) there, but all the girls were beautiful.

I've met Nicole Maines and her father at the conference. I hugged Kristen Beck, the former Navy seal. I said that she must feel safe as a girl, given that she could probably beat any nasty guy into submission, and she told me how she got cold cocked by a guy who attacked her from behind.

There's a humongous nail salon right behind the hotel, and it's hard to explain how great it is to walk in there with your knees knocking together from fear, to find 20 other trans girls getting a mani or pedi, mixed in among the cis girls.

There were 4 or 5 makeup artists providing makeovers, most of them cis girls helping out trans girls and making a living out of it, and at least one girl like (Amanda Rich) us doing makeovers.

You can try on and buy wigs, jewelry, clothes, and dress tech hip pads, among other things.

And these are just the highlights. I've made a lot of friends there, some in DC that I see often, and others that I see only once a year.

Last year, I was just talking to a random girl standing next to me, and we discovered that we grew up in the same home town (in the Boston suburbs), we graduated the same high school the same year, and we were on the track team together for 3 years. We showered together in the locker room. Once we figured that out, I asked her (jokingly) why she hadn't told me 44 years ago. We met again this year, and we think we had the same teacher in first grade. How great is that.

Oh, I had dinner one night with Heidi and Stef, and saw Georgette there, among others.

[Jamie Lynn]

This really sounds like a must do at least once! Interesting, things to learn, and FUN!

[Adriana Moretti]

I went to Keystone last year, sat out this year cause my friends and I were not impressed. In fact last year I left pissed cause it was pretty lame. Now as far as seminars and workshops, its GREAT, a great conference..in fact some of my friends do the seminars .
. We however were just looking for fun, and that conference was a little too conservative I guess is a nice way to put it ? I could put alot of that conferences night time activities on blast but i wont...it just wasnt for us.Casino was fun, but We wound up going out off campus on our own instead..and the Gala was a sleeper .... I am glad i saved the 5-700 bucks Keystone would of cost and I stayed local and hung out here , i will put that money towards other trips, just not my cup of tea, i get why gals like it though...and i do kinda like the fact their are so many gals in one place all together, meeting gals etc, only regret for not going this year was I diddnt get to see the gals from detroit !, but last year it diddnt do it for me.. maybe next year I will try it again , who knows where my head will be at then. It is something you should do once though as Jamie says...For some reason I like First Event better....maybe its the location ...i dunno

[Alice Torn]

I just don't have the money for such things, though i am sure it was fun. i am such a lone wolf, i may not like it.

[Sara Jessica]

I attended a (now defunct) convention-format gathering back in the mid-1990's called California Dreaming. I found it to be quite "meh" and to this day, I'm not particularly inclined to attend any of the conventions that are currently popular around the country.

Even back then, I had been out enough to not feel any sort of need to attend seminars on what I saw as the basics. Fortunately, I didn't have to part with any of my hard earned money to find this out because I actually attended with a vendor.

However, if I didn't live so close to DLV (a vacation, not a convention), I could totally see the value in these gatherings for the social aspect.

Thank goodness for DLV and other similar events.

[Lynn Marie]

I go to Esprit in May each year because it's less than a hundred miles away, on the water, a great place to hang out with fabulous girlfriends, and we own the town for a week. It's simply a week long party with friends. If you don't have friends, I'm sorry for you. You're really missing out.

[JamieG]

I have been to Keystone six years in a row. Keystone was essential to my "growing up" as a crossdresser. The first year I went just for the day (I live about a two hour drive from Harrisburg). I changed in a friend's room and attended seminars then went to Bingo that night. I was so scared to walk down the hotel hallway, but as soon as I saw other crossdressers, I began to feel at ease. The hotel staff was also very nice and super respectful. Three years ago, I took the plunge and went out to one of the organized dinners in town. This year, I didn't go to a single seminar, and instead spent a lot of time hitting the town with my besties, often just the three of us in broad daylight. I have learned so much from the seminars: how to improve my makeup, how to balance CDing with a marriage, how to choose clothes for my body, how CDing can impact kids, how to walk and sit more like a lady, how to come out to people, crossdressing throughout history, research on the brains of TG folks, etc. As Steffi mentioned, they also get fantastic speakers for the lunches and the gala dinner. The event really is a perfect blend of camaraderie, education, and fun.

[GretchenJ]

1) Is it that you learned something new from seminars or workshops about cross dressing?
what might that be?

2) Is it that Keystone afforded you opportunity to be "out" ? To be a "day walker"?

3) Something else?

Hey Jenn

Last year was my second year attending Keystone, I had an awesome time like I did last year

1. In my opinion the seminars are well thought out as there is something for everyone from the casual CD up to and including surgery options and therapy. So there is always something to field in your wield house . As others have mentioned, some people don't go to the seminars at all and just enjoy 5 days totally enfemme

2. Yes, it afforded me to be out for an extended period of time , more than my typical 2-3 hours out at a time.

3. Yes - The biggest reason, I like to go out shopping as much as the next person, but it allows me to share in the experience and comraderie with some of the nicest people I have ever met, many from this forum. It allowed me to share stories over dinner, have a great time at bingo, and have alone time as well. Since most of my Gretchen time is in solitude, this allows me to be not so lonely. It does leave a void when it is over like Stef stated so well.

thinking about attending?? It would be nice to meet face to face and chat !!

Gretch