By Peter Berton
YNOT – Think of it as “Facebook for T-girls and their fans”: Toronto transsexual performer and entrepreneur Mandy Goodhandy has launched a new social networking site for T-girls and their admirers. Ladyplus.com, subtitled “It’s a T-girl’s World,” draws upon Goodhandy’s reputation and renown in the international T-girl community and plays off the popularity of the pansexual bar Goodhandy’s, which she co-owns with Todd Klinck.

YNOT.com spoke to Goodhandy about the new site and what she hopes to achieve by launching it.

YNOT.com: Tell us about the new social network.
Mandy Goodhandy: Ladyplus.com is a network-style site designed with T-girls in mind, but it is open to all who consider themselves on the “fringe” of society and refuse to be labeled and/or put into a box. It is also a site for non-trans people to join in and get educated about us in a fun, adventurous way.

Why did you decide to launch it?
We launched the site to offer T-girls a chance to transition with dignity, to be more informed, to celebrate their transitions publicly or to be discreet and private as they find their way. It was important to us that T-girls, their supporters, their friends and their admirers have a place on the net that is designed for them — as opposed to a site that just includes us because they feel we are a “niche” — or sites that refuse to offer more than two gender choices on their sign-up pages, leading to embarrassment and sometimes harassment.

What features does the site offer?
Ladyplus.com offers everyone a profile page called “My World” to describe themselves, post photos, video clips and even start a personal diary. It has lots of forums for posting and reading about a variety of subjects from cross-dressing to escort reviews. It has search features to find who is into what, who is searching for what, who is online or offline. It has functions for other businesses, product and service people to advertise their wares at extremely reasonable rates. We have no intentions of gouging small businesses, especially ones that are owned [by people in the trans community].

Our favorite feature is the free video-chat, with a variety of rooms ranging from naughty to ladies-only to relationships. Everyone can choose to show themselves on cam or stay anonymous, but multiple people can be viewed at once, giving an opportunity for fun and frolic. There is also a one-one-one feature for private encounters and possible hook ups.

What kind of people do you hope will join your network?
Everyone is welcome. This social networking site gives people a chance to express themselves with dignity and respect. This includes people’s right to be “adults” if they wish to be, without having their material removed unjustly and without reason.

How large is the demand for a T-girl site like this?
I guess we will find out. But my guess is that there is a huge demand. We have been in the T-girl business for over 15 years now, and we have discovered thousands of people out there who enjoy our world, just wish to visit our world or want to become part of our world.

What have you learned about T-girls and T-girl admirers over the years?
Like anyone else, each and every one of them is different and special in their own way. They are all trying to find themselves, and hopefully they have learned or will learn that we all belong and should make no excuses or apologies for that.

Finally, can T-girls and their admirers find true love on a site like this?
With realistic expectations and careful website and soul searching, most certainly!