So, I was looking up more information regarding Ovotestis for the Jubal story and I came across some interesting facts.

Apparently, the condition is no longer called intersex, but is diagnosed as disorder of sexual development or DSD, with the aforementioned Ovotestis being OT-DSD.

Not sure how I personally feel about this, but I was able to glean more information that may hold some hope for Jubal, since apparently about two thirds of karyotype 46,XX have normal menstruation. . .

Sounds like a certain doctor might have jumped the gun thinking she would be sterile.

Ha! I knew that would bring the geeks in! Sorry, though. This isn't about computer failure, it's about societal failure.

There's a wonderful discussion going on now in Nick B.'s blog on what it means to be a transsexual. Nick's goal is to publish an article on the 'net that will help dispel ignorance and help promote acceptance.

File this somewhere under Deep, Deep Background! Some of it might be useful to authors of TG fiction, but mostly I think it will be of interest to those who have intersex conditions.

Chapters 32, 33, 34 & Epilogue: Their mountain journey is about over, but their life journey is just beginning. We’ll finally find the answer to the mystery that none of the readers to date have questioned. We’ll also clean up a few things. Thanks to the faithful few for sticking this out.

Chapters 29, 30 & 31: Karen and Persi, now a married and expectant couple, are finishing their residency. Fanny approaches them with an offer they can’t refuse. It is something that will help carry on both Fanny and Musetta’s legacy. Sylvia makes sure that Karen is ready to continue on her adventure. She exchanges Karen’s mummy bag with one that will zip to Pat’s. What does Sylvia have on her mind? It’s a tough two day trip; however, Karen finds Pat right where he was supposed to be. She also finds he is fighting mixed feelings about her. There is still some residue left from Brenda’s nefariousness.

Chapters 26, 27 & 28: Karen awakes to find the two cats from the previous morning plus a huge tabby resting at the foot of her bed. The monster cat introduces himself and demands to have his chest scratched. Once Karen gets it right, the purring starts. For the next few chapters we are going to learn a lot more about Persi and Clara’s relationship. How did they meet and what precipitated their romance. Clara’s boyfriend wants her to get her breasts enlarged; not just a little bit, but huge. Persi tells her she is a fool if she does. Persi throws own her roommate out after coming home to find a beer and marijuana fest going on. Two of the partiers try to get rough and end up in the hospital. Clara’s boyfriend tries to isolate her from Persi; however Clara refuses to submit to his wishes and she is badly beaten. He has many years to regret his actions. Clara and Persi realize they love each other but are hesitant about telling the other. Love wins.

Chapters 22, 23, 24 & 25: Demi auditions with the Vienna State Opera and is hired on the spot, as is a young English woman who proved to be an excellent mezzo soprano. Demi and her new friend get secondary roles in the first of Wagner’s Ring Cycle operas, Das Rheingold. Demi sees the new rage of the opera world, the star bass baritone, Arturo Vocelli who has the reputation of being a lothario. Demi is smitten, as have been many others; however, she is willing to take things slowly rather than throw herself at him. Unexpectedly, that is literally what happens. What she didn’t realize was that Arturo had also noticed her. Their romance takes off but Demi refuses to jump into bed with him. He is willing to wait. They can wait only so long. The question is, though, will Arturo propose? Well, if you read the first chapter, you know he does.
I posted four chapters because I wanted to get the story out there before we go on an extended trip to the Baltic. There are nine chapters and the epilogue to go after this.

Chapters 19, 20 & 21: Now it’s time to learn a bit more about Demi. Demi and Persi were a bit adventurous to say the least; however, their risky conduct is discovered and the reins are pulled in. Demi’s reputation precedes her to Humboldt and it is not only the students who have their sights set on her. Demi has a run-in with a professor early on and she learns a bit about the ‘casting couch’. She takes action with deserved results. Demi moves on to Julliard and establishes the fact that she will be a force to be reckoned with in the world of opera. Demi realizes if her career is to go forward, she needs to go to Europe. Before she leaves, she makes sure that Helen is in good shape in New York.

Chapters 16, 17 & 18: Helen’s studies continue. She graduates from Julliard with honors and is ready to challenge the world. There is one challenge that she hasn’t talked much about; however, Fanny knows what Helen is capable of doing. Fanny confronts Helen and Helen admits she has thought about the Van Cliburn Competition for years, and it is coming up in the next year. Helen’s audition is submitted and she is one of 30 competitors accepted for the competition. She meets Jimmy Levine and the attraction is overwhelming.

Chapters 13, 14 & 15: Jo O’Donnell has passed away at the age of 90 and there is quite a gathering of friends and relatives. A big surprise is when Katherine and Sean both show up with their children and grandchildren. Not only that, but Katherine is accompanied by her lover and de facto husband, the recent Prime Minister of Great Britain. They have been together for more than 30 years. More of their story will be revealed in The Redhead and the PM to be released late in 2010. Mike O’Donnell passes on soon after Jo.

Helen performs with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra and gets rave reviews. She also performs with several other orchestras around the country while she is still a student at Humboldt. Her Aunt Fanny and Grandmother had wanted her to go to Julliard right out of high school; however, Helen still had issues and wasn’t ready to leave the nest. She finally goes to Julliard to receive the finishing she knows she needs.

Her reputation has definitely preceded her and Helen is asked to assist an undergraduate student who is having trouble adjusting to Julliard and personal problems. Helen, who lives off campus, takes her in and a lasting friendship is formed.

Chapters 10, 11 & 12: Karen awakes after a very pleasant night to find she is sharing her bed with two cats. One of them checks her out to the little cat’s satisfaction and the heads to breakfast with her companion close behind. Karen never had a pet when she was growing up and is not too sure about cats in general. Karen does find out a bit more about Persi and Clara and a near disaster is averted. Helen and her husband arrive with the exciting news that they are going to be adopting a child soon. Karen realizes that Helen can’t have children. Helen explains that she has CAIS, Complete Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome, which means she has an X and Y chromosome.

Helen’s condition was a shock to everyone and very traumatic for Helen. She will recover. She continues to impress everyone with her musical abilities. Her Grandmother Jo and Aunt Fanny put her through a test that Helen finds to be fun; however, its implications are very serious about the direction her talent will take her. Her grandmother makes a serious statement that she won’t be around much longer, and Helen has trouble accepting it. It is nearly 80 years since we first met Jo.

This posting and the next two will deal with Helen’s rather remarkable life. She has her low points; however, the high points far outnumber the low.

Chapters 7, 8 & 9: Sometimes forgiveness is easier to obtain than permission. That is certainly the case here; however, instead of forgiveness, the two young lovers receive acceptance beyond what they originally hoped for. The two families look only forward, trying to make the young lovers’ transition to adulthood and parenthood as easy as possible. Fanny makes the trip from Redding with George to talk to the newest member of her family and make sure she is properly cared for. We will see Fanny many more times as this story progresses. We knew Fanny was special when we first met her and we are going to find that she is a rock.

Joe is forced to become an adult, as is Amy and they make the transition smoothly. When the secret breaks at Joe’s high school, there are mixed reactions and some of the early results are rather hateful. Joe handles the opposition quite well and has the support of the school administration. Their school years are tough, but they handle things well once on their own. Joe’s athletic prowess catches the eyes of the athletic staff at Humboldt and it leads him to places no one would have expected.

Chapters 4, 5, & 6: Ah, young love; or should I say lust. Amy has her heart set on Joe, and Joe is really fond of Amy. The trouble is they are just kids verging on puberty. Like breaking the sound barrier, once you pass that point, there is a whole new world in front of you. Amy is very adventurous and she has her mind set on making love with Joe as soon as they are able. Amy takes precautions as best she can. Her mother won’t let her take the ‘pill’. They make love as often as is possible. Of course they get caught, not by their parents but by Joe’s sisters. That turns out to not be a problem; however, Amy fails to rotate her stock and the inevitable happens. Now they have to tell their parents.

Chapter 2: Obviously, Brenda Filzen did something to drive Pat away from Karen; however, she seems to have lost her grip on Pat fairly soon. Pat, however, does not seek Karen out until it’s too late. Karen Brushes off his late attempt to at least have lunch with her, and she walks off into the mist. Karen meets Pat’s parents and likes them immediately. They meet again at graduation and Sylvia senses immediately that Pat has somehow wronged Karen.

At Aunt Greta’s—
Bisto & History
by Gabi
Chapter 22 of a Continuing Saga…

I was wakened in the dark by the horrid wailing of the air-raid siren.

‘Here we go again,’ I thought, pulling on Greta’s baggy navy-blue knickers before traipsing out to the Anderson shelter in the corner of the back garden.

This is currently being run on AOL and elsewhere. We went through this controversy decades ago and it was resolved.

Dear Readers,

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Tanya has a new website where she will display her latest works first and then to BigCloset TopShelf a few weeks later is here at Tanya Allan's Tales .
Tanya's Book Shop where she is selling her works in book form is at http://tanyaallan.authorshaunt.com/shop.php . Please Visit!

I am not sure what happened but I left out Chapter 8. You might want to go back and read it. There is some important information there.

Hello everyone,

I want to thank those who took the time to comment on the story and or send messages to me directly. There were some good, strong critics about the story's weaknesses and I thought I would try to elicit some further discussion.