Femulate

Wednesday, April 24, 2024

Age, Appearance, and Skin Care

By Cathy Peterson

Stana’s post got me thinking about how we look when we’re out in public presenting as women. I understand we’re all different in age, body type, home situation, make-up, clothing and style. I have processed this with my counseling therapist the last 12 years. When I adjusted my mind’s image of me as a woman away from trying to present like a young model and started presenting as a middle-age professional woman, that’s when being out in public really got better and much more relaxed.

I’m 6 feet 2. I was over 240 poundsin my mid-50s (12 years ago). Then I got serious about taking care of myself, getting into shape and losing weight.

Treating pre-cancerous growths with an intense homeopathic regimen that included two all-natural plant-based phytoestrogens kick-started a wild hormone imbalance. My T dropped below the 5th percentile for my age, while I had significantly elevated levels of estradiol, estrone, estriol, progesterone and eventually prolactin. My nails grew faster and stronger. My hair thickened and grew faster. My skin softened and what little fair body hair I had all but disappeared. And my cancer issues shrunk and were no longer a problem

In October 2016, I started experiencing early breast development and 18 months later I had B-cup breasts. At three years (Fall 2019) I was a full 36C (where I’m still at today). My endocrinologist joked those three stages are a very natural process of “buds, bumps, boobs.” During that time, I went from 228 pounds down to 192.

I’m now 183 pounds and measure 39-31-35. Turns out, my body did a natural response to the homeopath capsules and topical lotion and started producing its own estrogens. Blood tests for my annual physical showed my female hormone levels all in the normal range for pre-menopausal woman, even now as I just turned 66.

Loving these physical changes, I also started a daily skincare plan for my softer skin. I also grew my hair out to my shoulders and since age 55, I color it every four weeks. Friends, neighbors, colleagues and especially immediate and extended family have watched my physical changes gradually over the years. When I present as husband, father, grandfather, I get a lot of nice compliments about my skin, “love your hair” and I easily pass for early 50s.

I was at lunch with my 40-year-old daughter and her two sons (all blonde with blue eyes like me) and the server smiled and said what a nice family I had. My daughter laughed, smiled and told the woman, “This is my dad, these are his grandsons.” (I loved it.)

When I present as Cathy, my image is mature average women in her mid-60s. I now have skinny arms and thin legs, do my own hair in an age-appropriate style and with good daily skincare and basic make-up (liner, shadow, mascara, lipstick), I can present very well in public. Of course, I have some mid-60s facial wrinkles, little crows’ feet, but most of my skin is clear and smooth – all looks very natural. Aspiring to everyday ladies out and about is my main focus; skincare, haircare and weight managment made it all happen!

Wearing Bebe

Youth is wasted on the young (femulator)

Monday, April 22, 2024

Not a Freak

Sadly, I will not be attending Hamvention this year. My wife’s health has improved a lot, but I don’t feel comfortable leaving her alone for the six days a roundtrip to Hamvention entails. To remind me of what I will be missing, I have been reading my old Hamvention posts and after reading one from 2019, I thought it deserved repeating, so here it is.

2019 Hamvention Booth Babe

As a ham radio operator, you usually have no idea about the people you contact over the air.

For years, Bill and I were key operators in a ham radio network spanning Connecticut and we worked together to make the network function efficiently. I never met Bill in person until I ran into him at Hamvention. (Yes, we traveled over 750 miles to meet each other even though we lived about 40 miles apart.)

After that first encounter, we usually met up at Hamvention each year, until I began showing up as a woman. I was shy those first few years attending as a woman, so I did not go out of my way to find Bill. Then about 10 years ago, I saw Bill sitting in the audience of a forum I was attending and when the forum was over, I made a beeline to Bill to reintroduce myself.

Bill was surprised, but seemed OK with the revised me and said that I had to be true to myself. Since then, Bill and I usually meet up at Hamvention as if nothing changed.

At Hamvention in 2019, I was returning to our booth after making my presentation and I heard someone call out my name. I turned around to find Bill waiting in line to buy lunch from a food truck. He informed me that he retired as a state police officer (I had no idea he was a state cop) and had moved to South Carolina. And then he said he wanted to introduce me to his wife, who was also waiting in line.

It does my heart good when a friend or acquaintance wants to introduce me to their spouse. It is so meaningful to me because they have accepted me as a real person, not a freak, but a woman.