History of TGGuide

History of TGGuide, preserved in screenshots and text from the original website which was first developed in 1996. In the early days, TGGuide.com was operated primarily by Rose, Heather, Amanda, Connie, Randi, and Alex. Since then, many people have generously contributed their time and efforts to make this site an online leader of information and support for transgender people who come to us searching for information, friendship and peer support. See the current TGGuide team.

TGGuide Website in Early 1997

History of TGGuide - A screenshot of the website from early 1997.

TGGuide.com, as one of the earliest online transgender support sites, provided live transgender chat, message forums, shopping, a transgender resources directory, articles and most importantly, a sense of community. The site was developed by Rose and several trans friends. The staff of TGGuide in 1997 are listed below.

Rosie, founder of TGGuideRose

The TransGenderGuide is her dream!
Nashville based, when Rose came to DC and met Heather … TGGuide was formed. Rose traveled the country seeking info and sisters for her vision of a one-stop resource and support site for all the girls on the web! Scroll down this page to read Rose’s plea for help as she built this site as a resource for transgender people who were desperately seeking information and community.

HeatherHeather

Web mistress of the site, Chief Engineer and Office manager. Based in Washington, DC – Heather designed and built the TGGuide site. She made sure TGGuide worked, and kept it fun and helpful for all who visited.

MichelleMichelle

Famous for her Midday Break (more hits than the Superbowl Website!) and newsletter, Michelle was our heart in Texas! Michelle moved her site to TGGuide in 1997 to bring her unique insights to an even larger audience.

RandiRandi

An active participant and friend on many of the chat sites on the web, Randi was in Minneapolis and was the Hostess of the Sunday night Tea Room Support chats.

JamieLynn (no photo available)

A supportive sister on the web, JamieLynn was our senior HTML editor. North Carolina based, JamieLynn was here from the start, and was involved in the marathon 30 hour brainstorming session when this site was developed.

TGGuide History – Rose’s Post from 1997

I am Rose Marie, most of the time. I, along with some very special people, started this site we now call TGGuide, or as some call it the TransGenderGuide.

TGGuide Launched November 2, 1996

What you see her now wasn’t here 6 months ago. We signed the website contract Oct 3rd, 1996. Our official launch date was November 2, 1996.

What you see here takes time to produce, and it takes people to make it available; people like Heather and Amanda, both pretty good geekettes. On the other hand, I am not a computer geek in any way, as so many can attest to, but I did come up with the money to make this happen.. I guess you would say my responsibility to this site is to keep it running. I’m the one who tries to pay the bills, to maintain the server, to recruit, to solicit ads. I guess I do a lot that no one sees.

I now would like to ask for some help from some of you folks. Help with what I do, and help with what Heather and Amanda do.

Fast Growth and a Plea for Help

We have grown very fast, and very big, and I am not sorry for any of that, but I would like to see the GUIDE do what it was intended to do and that is GUIDE.. Yes, the GUIDE is a guide for the community and with some help it will be awesome. What kind of help is needed? I’m not going to dwell on that here, instead I would like to direct you to the Feedback page. On this page we will post a list of the areas we need help in, and what needs to be done. There you can sign up for what you feel you can do. My Vision page may give you more insight as to the intent of this site as well.

I truly believe that we have created a pretty good nucleus here; now it’s time to move on. We need to do more. We need more informative articles to help all those girls that are still in the closet, we need more support groups to come forward and share their resources, we need more business to provide their support and help us to inform the public.

It won’t take a lot of effort on anyone’s part if we, as a community, climb into the same canoe and paddle down stream. At present we all seem to have our own little canoe, and it appears that we want to paddle upstream against against the current and battle those trying to go with the flow. I pray this effort will help our community by uniteing us for a common goal. That goal; to help those that need it, to provide information to the community quickly and easily.

A few hours a week from some of you, and TGGuide will truly become a one-stop resource on the web. I will gladly provide you with the resources you need to create a page for any city in the USA or Canada. Any person in any town has the same abilities, and if you need help in procuring this information, I should surely provide you with the where-with-all to attain it.

We also need help in contacting businesses. A simple 3-minute local call can provide us with the information we need to list them in the guide. We want to know that they are there, and TG friendly. Pretty simple. We need people to contact the medical profession to assure that they as well will treat our community as needed. And help build another data base.

More Ideas Than Time

TGGuide is proud to announce that there are many more projects that are in the works. I must admit I and several have more ideas than time.

There is no limit as to what we can do as a community, and nothing that we do will be a burden on our own lives if we work together for a common goal. The point here is that WE CAN DO IT..

Another way we can help, especially for those of us that are working, would be to take a couple of bucks and send it off to someone in the community that needs it. A few suggestions might be: AEGIS, IFGE, OUTREACH, and TGGuide. (we can always use help with ISP fees and other operating expenses). If anyone would like a list, I would be happy to provide it.

Ladies, and Gents, this site is yours, and unlike others on the net, this one really is yours. Your help is needed, your help will be appreciated.

TGGuide Provides Help and Support

Our attitude here at TGGuide is to provide help and support. TGGuide will, and does, link to and support other efforts conducted on the web for the advancement of the community. We believe the best way to help the community is via information, and we want to provide that.

Please take the time to go to the feedback page and check out what we need, and volunteer for something, or at the very least, tell us what you would like to see here, and what we can do to make it better? Any and all suggestions will be considered.

Thank you so very much for your very valuable time.

History of TGGuide: Rose’s Dream

In a post from 1996, Rosemarie said,

“I had a dream.”

A statement I have made many times throughout my life. “I had a dream.” Sounds like I went through life with my head stuck in the clouds, and no direction. Well nothing could be further from the truth. I spent a lifetime battling my way along the path of life and I worked hard, raising 5 children and even some of my grandchildren. I did the best I could with the businesses I ran, the family I provided for, the friends I had, and life in general. So what is this stuff about a dream? Why did I feel like I was not counted on this earth? Worst of all, why did I wear dresses?

Yes, you read it right, I wear womens clothes. I am a pervert, a weirdo, a society cast away. I always felt that I was doing something very wrong, something that was not accepted by society, but it seemed so natural, something I should be doing. Was I just a mistake of nature? Did the lord that I believe in so strongly, and trust with all my soul, make a mistake? He sent me here as a boy? How could he have made such a mistake? I know I am the only one in the world that has been born this way! There is no way my lord would make two mistakes!

If you are reading this, you may be in the same canoe as I am, maybe you are just curious to find out about all these silly men in dresses, maybe you are genuinely concerned, or you really want to know more. Hell, maybe you are just as confused about why this desire, or should I say, this need to wear women’s clothes instilled in MY body.

Why did the lord make me this way?

If you are like me; you also feel like you are the only mistake in the world. After all, children are born with deformities every day, but only ONE boy is born with the need to be female, and that is me! Well, let me assure you, and me; we are not the only ones with this unconventional way of life. You and I are just two within a community made up of millions. I have come to the realization that the lord did not make any mistakes; he made us special.. He provided us special people with a gift that not many people have. The ability to live on both side of the fence. He blessed us with the sweetness, strength, and genuine concern for the well being of others; female traits. He gave us the drive, staying power, and the will to survive: male traits.

“I had a dream”? What does that mean? Well, through out my life, while hiding in my closet; the desire to seek out others like me has always been very high on my list. The desire to find answers to the thousands of questions I have had. The desire to find out WHY? Why me??

That question, “WHY”

Although not answered as yet, is at least within the realm of possibility. The fact that I am the only one has broken through, and guess what? I’M NOT!!!! The years of blaming others for my problems, the thousands of WHYS, the failures, the successes… The questions I asked my parents as a kid, “why do I like to play with girls’ stuff? Why won’t the boys pick me for their team? Mommy, why won’t daddy let me play with that doll?

The answers were always the same, “Because you are a boy!!” Because I am a boy? What is that? I fought very hard throughout my life to maintain a male image. Why? Don’t know! I guess I was supposed to? Daddy taught me to be a man?? Still, I do not understand… In my days they made everybody be right-handed! My adult life was a mixed up mess of high and low paying positions, in and out of business, more ups and downs than anyone should have to bear. And at every turn, I was asking; “When do I get to be me?” “When can I put on my dress?” “When is it my turn to live my life? ”

“I HAVE A DREAM”

and now my dream can be yours.. What I have fought for, I dream that you do not have to. What I have prayed for, I pray you do not have to. The questions I scoured the world to find answers for, I dream you do not have to.. The turmoil that was bestowed upon me, I dream you do not have to struggle through.

The dream is a rather simple idea. Those of the gender community should have at their feet all of the answers. They should have all the resources. This information should be easy to find, this information should be FREE.

The Beginning of TGGuide

With the help of many wonderful people who share my dream, I have put together a website that shall; I PRAY; help us all. I shall strive, with my last breath, to make all the resources that pertain to the gender community available to all who need and want this information. AND IT SHALL ALWAYS BE FREE TO THE COMMUNITY. Those that need the help, shall get it.. Please, do not interrupt this to say that I have all the answers, I do not. Our site is a growing site and it will always grow.. I shall gather as much information as I can, I shall get it online as fast as I can, I shall always do the best I can to produce a quality site.

My dream is for the premier site! I pray that all those sealed in the closet can come out, at least those that want to. If I can help one person attain their goal in life, help just one person achieve their dream, I shall consider I have done something.

Dream Becomes Reality

I HAD A DREAM. No longer ‘had’- I now have a dream in the making. I suppose it will always be a dream. Lord, please let us live the life we feel that we must live. Do allow others to see that we are real people, trying to live!!!

Our site is working with and will always work with those in the community who are looking to move forward. We must eliminate the prejudice. We must help others and WE must always love our neighbors, no matter who they are.. To quote a very lovely genetic lady, Christy Lane; “Everything is beautiful, in its own way.”

My dream is a reality.. We shall never walk alone again.

Rose Marie … November 2, 1996

TGGuide Still Needs Help

Running TGGuide requires a great deal of time. Many hands make for a lighter load. If you have time to contribute to TGGuide, we invite you to view our help wanted page and contact us with your ideas.