Belfast Butterfly Club – Irish Times review

I saw this article a couple of days ago.  It struck me it was a review of the Northern Irish equivalent of “Fabuliss”, which many of you know is my local meeting place for tgirls quite close to me.

I’ve not read a lot about the transgendered in Ireland, whether Eire or in the North.  I know a couple of girls that have been there on business who have been able to meet up with a few friendly faces, but somehow I can’t imagine Belfast or even Dublin to be especially accepting.  Steeped in its largely rural roots with a strong religious fervour whether catholic or protestant would not lend itself (I would have supposed) to acceptance of transvestite or transsexual expression ……so I was quite pleased to read a largely supportive article in the Irish Times (see below).  Contrast that with the tone of the Daily Mail article, (which I referred back to recently) when they sought only to sensationalise and ridicule Fabuliss and its organisers, and maybe Ireland is not quite as ‘backward’ as I’d thought. 

It would be interesting to get the take of any Irish girls out there.

I’ve travelled all over the emerald isle (albeit mainly on golf/ other sporting occasions) and always loved their hospitality, their music, their humour, (the Craic!), but I’ve never really discussed their attitudes to minority groups.   On their travels it seems everyone loves the Irish.  If one forgets for a moment the IRA and equivalent paramilitaries in the North and the civil strife that almost tore the country apart, one tends to think of the Irish as very easy-going and charming companions that would get on with anybody, yet the article below appears to hint that the transgendered need to meet in secret, that it would be a rarity to be able to just be out there in the street, to go to normal pubs, clubs and restaurants as one might do in London or (with care), most parts of England.

In following the link to the butterfly club (http://www.belfastbutterflyclub.co.uk/), I notice they don’t publish where they meet and the website (and their meetings) sound a bit old-fashioned,  a little like the Beaumont society, stuck in the 1970’s when there was nothing else….but in fairness, it has been going since 1991.  But it does sound like they could do with an injection of youth, and maybe the young tgirls themselves are a little more adventuresome.  Fabuliss has it’s fair share of ‘middle aged tranny’s’  but there is a good mix of ‘pretty young things’ as well, even if I am a bit old for that.  On the other hand, the Butterflys are sufficiently organised to be a charitable trust (rather like another group I hugely admire, the River City Gems in Sacramento, California) and have in the past if not currently, received substantial grants to provide support functions for the transgendered and their families and have even run conferences.

Anyway, the key thing was the tone of the article.  It seems pretty fair-minded and gave a platform for the girls there to talk a little about the why’s and wherefore of what they like to do.  So well done the Irish Times!

I give you the link to the article online, but knowing these links don’t last forever have reproduced the article below.

Have a great day

Hugs TinaCortina x

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/magazine/2011/0305/1224291099776.html

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

BUTTERFLY CLUB : They use fake names, live in fear of being discovered and meet in secret, but Northern Ireland’s transvestite community have found a sanctuary in the Belfast Butterfly Club, writes Fionala Meredith

IT’S A FEW DAYS before Christmas, and at a small suburban social club near Belfast, preparations for a party are well under way. The mince pies are heating up in the oven, sausage rolls and salads are set out on the table, and the sparkling wine is open and ready to be poured. It’s a freezing night, and as members of the club arrive in their party gear – short silky skirts, spaghetti-strap tops, diamante-studded stilettos – they huddle up to the three-bar electric fire, trying to bring a little warmth to chilly fingers and toes. It’s a familiar scene in all but one respect. This is the Belfast Butterfly Club, and the party-goers are middle-aged men dressed in women’s clothes.

The Butterfly Club is a secret place, a private retreat where cross-dressers and others from the transgender spectrum can meet, talk and give each other support. Safe from sarcastic wolf-whistles, mocking comments or more serious abuse, they can – for a few hours every week – become their true selves, without shame, fear, pretence or guilt.