1992_03 Insight March 1992

              T.C. packs a strategically placed tube sock In his tight fitting Levi's.
This transsexual is
still in the middle
By Jerry Back
Staff Writer
She may have looked like
daddy's little girl with her
long brown hair tied back in a
ponytail with a pink ribbon, but
it was obvious to the seven-year-
old that something felt wrong.
Her dress, cut just below the
knees, hung uncomrbrtabry. In
order to wear it she had to first
put on a pair of boys shorts
underneath the skirt
She reluctantly played with
Barbie dolls along with the other
girls her age, but always left for
home feeling dis-satisfied.
She didn't know it at the time,
but there was a simple
explanation for her
dissatisfaction and discontent
Daddy's little girl was a
transsexual.
Daddy's little girl is now a 33-
yearoU carpenter who goes by
tie nickname of'T.C''
T.C sports a black cowboy
hat and a matching pair of boots.
Long sideburns and a bushy
mustache have a head start on
T.C's five o'clock shadow.
The top five buttons on T.C's
shirt are unbuttoned revealing a
flat, hairy chest and a slight
paunch.
After undergoing hormone
treatment and a mastectomy,
T.C, in almost all respects, is
now a man. Almost
Painful shots ofthe hormone
Depo testosterone, injected once
every week, are responsible for
his radical transformation.
Speaking candidly abouthis life
in front ofadass of human sexuality students, T.C begins to fill in
the gaps of his extraordinary and,
very ofteri, traumatic life.
"I still need a full hysterectomy and an 'addidictomy/" he
said jokingly. T.C has had his
uterus removed, but still has his
ovaries and fallopian tubes. The
rest of his hysterectomy will set
him back $6,000,
The other opera tion," the
addidictomy," where doctors
fashion a penis using abdominal
skin and tissue from his vagina,
will cost at least $50,000 dollars.
"$50,000 dollars is my goal I
don't know ho .v I'm going to do
it but I'm going to do it/* T.C
said with a determined smile.
Some people have ignorantly
asked him if he could get a donor for
a penis. "Hey dad! Leave it in the
will!," he said, to the laughter of
many. Ho wever, reali ty sooncomes
back to him because T.C knows
that his body would reject the foreign skin tissue of another man's
penis.
Currently, T.C. packs a
strategically placed tube sock in his
tight fitting Levi's and he must still
urinate while sitting down.
"Ir'sprettysadwhmyourhighest
ambition in life is to stand up and
pee," said T.C with a chuckle, "but
1 want to be as real as I can be."
The comedy that comes out of
T.C's delivery is always under-
"My mom tried to
abort me. Once
with kerosene and
once with a coat
hanger."—T.C.
scored by the intense drama that
has actually played out during-his
we.
"My mom tried to abort me," he
says seriously. "Once with kerosene
and once with a coat hanger."
This has led T.C to believe that
his transsexualism is a product of
the abuse he received as a fetus.
He also contends that his mother
deeply resented males and was responsible for the crib deaths of his
two brothers, bom bom before him
T.C's two older sisters lived.
"I think God saved my life by
giving me a girl's body. He knows I
would have died also," T.C. says
self-assuredly.1 just wish he would
have given me a girl's brain to go
along with it"
He would try to press murder
charges against his mother but she
committed suicide several yearsago.
T.C's adolescence was quickly
marked with a traumatic event "I
was raped when I was 13," he
aDeged unemotionally, "and it was
set up by my older sister."
A pregnancy subsequently
developed. "I eventually had an
abortion of a pair of twins," T.C
told the mostly stunned audience.
T.C said relationships with
boys felt unnatural, regardless if
he had been raped or not He said
that there were no sparks when he
kissed a boy. This feeling changed
with his first sexual experience
with a girl when he was 14.
"1 became girl-crazy and have
been chasing them ever since,"
he said with a wide grin on his
face. And chase them he has.
T.Clovestodanceatthelocal
nightclubs and is considered
quite attractive by many of the
women he meets. If the situation
starts to become intimate, he tells
the woman up front about his
female genitalia.
"Most never believe me
until I show them," T.C said.
"I just hope that they're
drunk enough."
Recently, T.C was dandng
with a woman who looked
familiar to him She said that he
also looked familiar. It turned
out that she was present during
T.C's annual pelvic exam four
months before.
"Lo and behold, it was the
nurse!," he exdaimed. "My face
turned a thousand shades of
red," T.C. said with mock
embarrassment.
T.C. said that being
transsexual has put him in many
humorous situations. It also cost
him his last job.
Recently, his boss heard a
rumor that T.C. was a
transsexual and asked if it was
true. TCsaid yes, and was fired
shortly afterwaaf s.
He wants to file a sex
discrimination suit but says that
the only attorneys who will
represent him charge
ur«affordabtelegal fees. T.C said
that the only realistic chance for
his "addidictomy" will come
from a successful lawsuit.
Ifs been a long road for T.C
At times, life still does not
always make sense to him.
'T.C. stands for 'too cute' or
'too confused'," he said with
resignation-Tm not al ways sure
which."
In any case, T.C. still
maintains a positive attitude
about his situation and is
confident that whatever
confusion remains will one day
be resolved. a
Animals can be first,
zoologist tells CSUF
By Scott T. Barnes	
StaffWriter
David Attenboroughhas
fil med gorillas in Rwanda,
scaled the highest mountains in
NepaLbraved piranhas in the rivers
of the Amazon and stared do wn the
dragons of Komodo. Probably one
of the least remarkable days in his
bfewashfarecentiysoid-out lecture
at CSUF dealing with the unique
adaptations of animals to island l|
environments.
A zoologist from Cambridge,
England, Attenborough has
received five honorary degrees, was
knighted by the Queen of England
for his work in conservation and
David Attenborough
. emphasized the need to preserve
wildlife throughout the world.
"What's wrong with putting animals' well-being
above our own from time to timer he asked his CSUF
Attenborough spends much of his time earning
money for conservation groups. "When you get
irn*olved in worldwide conservation, you are inevitably
involved in meetings," he said, "which is really rather
boring."
Despite all the attention given specific problem
areas, Attenborough said that saving the environment
really comes down to the fact that there are too many
people in the world.
One of the things Attenborough is involved with is
how to protect the African elephants from ivory   .
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pUdty of his narration. His videos
are never bogged down with complex theory and unpronounceable
scientific names. They are filled, instead, with dozens of tidbits of
oftentimes humorous trivia. For instance, mole rats knock on the walls
of their burrows to communicate
withtheirnrighbors. Komododrag-
ons, giant lizards over 10 feet long
who live on an Indonesian island,
prefer eating rotten meat to fresh.
Attenborough used a rotten goat to
attract hoards of the lizards for the
camera."And I hoped I smelled a bi t
better than the goat," he joked.
In 1984, "The Living Planer" explained how plants and animals
adapt to differing environments. It
included fascinating footage of
everything from life on blistering
gladera to the rebuilding of the environment after a devastating volcanic eruption.
The trilogy —13 parts in each— was completed in
1991 with the Trial of Life". This final installment
explains the "how" and "why" of animal behavior.
Nature programs in England, Attenborough said,
"are always in the top 10, except for the soaps, which
we could never beat"
"I think one interesting characteristic of Homo
sapiens b that they absolutely have a compulsion to
communicate as much as anything, except for sex and
eating. I certainly get a huge pleasure from
communicating," Attenborough said.
He speaks of Homosa pi ens in the third person, as if
program. "In the '50s I produced political, quiz and
children'sshowsof all types," hesaid. Someof hismore
exciting programs included ballet and knitting.
He launched his first natural history series, "Zoo
Quest," in 1954. This program continued for 10 years.
attracted to the brilliant glow of Chinese glow worms
become tragic heroes as they are reeled up helplessly
on sticky silk threads to become casse-croutes.
Also in Attenborough's programs are common
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After "Zoo Quest," Attenborough's next big
project was "Life on Earth," the first episode of
a trilogy. This was a 13-part series that explored
the entire animal community, from Protozoa to
Chordata.
Attenborough is sometimes criticized for the sim-
comes to the nest"
His next project will be a four-part series on the
ecosystem of the Antarctic
Attenborough leaves the filming of what he calls
"the earth's most bizarre creature," humans, to his
brother, Sir Richard Attenborough, who directed
"Gandhi." a
CSUF student opens jewel of store
By Roselinda Abdul
Staff Writer
Now that "Impostors" is in town, people can buy
fake jewelry for less and get a lifetime guarantee. Impostors, a jewelry store internationally known
for its imitations of real jewelry, has been operating
in Fashion Fair Mall for five months.
What's interesting about this jewelry store is not
only its low prices and high quality costume jewelry,
but the business is run by former CSUF student Claude
Farrugia. Farrugia comes from a family of
entrepreneurs. It is not surprising that the 28-year-old
has always dreamed of opening her own store.
Early in 1991 white still in school, Farrugia began
turning her dream into reality.
"I always love to go shopping and see what people
buy," said Farrugia. "Through my observations, I
noticed that die fashion business is very profitable.
"After much research and talking to various business people, I decided to go into the costume Jewelry
business," she said. "I was lucky because at the same
time the Fashion Fair Mall real estate managers were
very keen on having an Impostors store."
From there, Farrugia began making arrangements
to become a franchisee. However, the CEO and the
president of Impostors did not take her seriously.
"Perhaps it is because they think I did not have
sufficient experience. After all, I was still studying,"
Farrugia said.
Six months later, equipped with an elaborate busi-
ness plan and money for capital, Farrugia madeanother
appointment with the CEO and the president of Impostors. This time they believed that this small, soft-
spoken college woman really meant business.
In October 1991, Farrugia's dream finally came true
when Impostors officially opened in Fresno.
Farrugia faced several obstacles in opening her
business.
"Before starting this business, I only heard of the
negative views that some people have on women's
ability to run business. But I never thought it would
happen to me," Farrugia said.
Farrugia applied for a business loan at several kxal
firuuxialinstitotions.VVT«neversrkebeganrnentk^
specific figures, Wank looks would cross the faces of
the loan officers. She never got any help from US.
sources, finally, she had to go overseas for funding.
FarrugUsaiditisrardforaworrantobeacceptcd
in the business world and it is even harder for her
because she is a foreigner.
Claude Farrugla owns Im posters, a costume
Jewelry store In Fashion Fair mall.
Farrugia, who was bom in France of Vietnamese:
parents, came to Fresno four yearsago.
"I'm glad I went through all these experiences
because it only made me more determined to sec that I
I succeed," Farrugia said
Farrugia had to quit school so that she could
concentrate on her business. However, she plans to go
back to school this falL
"1 believe education will provide a person with the
extensive knowledge to become better in life.
"In my line of career, I need all the knowledge I can
get about the business world so that I can prepare
myself for the future," Farrugia said.
Deborah R. Young, a CSUF business management
lecturer, said that Farrugia is an example of an
entrepreneur.
"She has an idea and she acted on it" said Young.
"Many students have a lot of great ideas but they never
act on them
Young, who taught Farrugia in the Business .
Management 110 class, said that Farrugia is an extremely organized persoa Farrugia first explained her
business plan to Young early in the fall semester. By the
end of the semester, she already had the business.
"She is really action-oriented and she takes the time
and effort to plan for her business," said Young, who
also teaches entrepreneur management.
Farrugia spends her free time reading biographies
of successful people. She encourages students to use
their time planning for their future careers, "so that
when they graduate, they are more than ready."     O *•