Stana in High School

Womanless beauty pageants at Denham Springs High School in Louisiana are a tradition that goes back to at least the mid-1970's, according to the Femulate Womanless Archives. Their femulations are usually outstanding. Louisiana gets my vote for the state with the best scholastic femulations.

The "girls" at Denham Springs High are at it again. They just concluded this year's installment of the pageant, as recorded by The Advocate of Baton Rouge, which features 15 photos from the event. Click here to see them for yourself.

By the way, I love womanless pageants because I never had the opportunity to participate in one and  I compete vicariously in the pageants I encounter on the Internet.

In my high school, there was some womanless activity during my four-year stint. One year, the basketball team performed crossdressed for the fall musicale – they were poor femulations, but femulations nonetheless. Another year, two fellows did Sonny and Cher for the spring musicale. The guy femulating Cher wore a wedding gown and looked beautiful doing it.

Of course, I was jealous and in my heart, I knew I could have femulated as well, if not better than they did, but it never came to pass. I guess I've made up for it since then and if my high school class ever has another reunion, you can be sure that Stana will be in attendance instead of Stan.

Wearing Carla Ruiz.

Contestant number 13 at the 2017 Denham Springs High School womanless pageant gets my vote as most likely not a civilian. Get a load of her eyebrows! I don't recall ever seeing eyebrows like that on another high school womanless contestant. You go, girl!

Stana in Frock

Issue 42 of Frock magazine is now available and it includes an article by yours truly. "I Stopped Pretending to be a Woman" begins on page 58.

Frock is free, so take a peek!

Wearing Victoria Beckham (top and skirt) and Marni (clutch).

Ballerinos!

Conquering High Heels

Walking gracefully in high heels is probably in the top five on the difficulty list for most femulators. A WhoWhatWear article by Kat Collings attempts to make this difficult task less difficult. If you follow Kat's advice, you can become a femme fatale in high heels.

The following summarizes Kat's advice followed by my comments

👠 The easiest way to look like an amateur in heels is to put your whole foot down at once as if you’re wearing flats. When wearing heels, put your heel down first, followed by your toe. This will make your walk look more natural. –Kat

In other words, don't walk tippy-toed. –Stana

👠 Wearing heels makes your stride shorter than normal, so you’ll have to take an increased number of small steps to go the same distance. We’re not recommending baby steps, but don’t try to take your usual long strides either. –Kat

Don't walk like a man. –Stana

👠 Trying to walk quickly in heels often ends up looking quite awkward. Between the smaller steps and the compromised balance, it’s best to take your time in heels. Besides, walking slowly gives off an air of confidence. –Kat

That is, femme fatale confidence. –Stana

👠 You may find you want to walk faster than your heels will allow, and end up craning your neck forward to compensate. This ends up looking strange, so allow yourself to lean just the slightest bit back when walking in heels, as this will counteract your inclination to lean forward. –Kat

Walk too fast in heels and you may trip yourself and get hurt (been there, done that). –Stana

👠 When you want to draw a straight line, you’ll get better results if you look at your end point as you draw, rather than looking at your pencil as it moves. Similarly, when walking in heels, you’ll walk more gracefully if you look at your goal point (maybe it’s the podium at the end of the stage), and visualize a straight line going toward your end point, rather than looking down at your heels as you walk.–Kat

Looking down at your heels also makes you look suspicious, as if you are trying to hide in plain sight. This just brings more attention to yourself  (what's she trying to hide?), may cause civilians to examine you more closely and possibly blow your femulation (another been there, done that). –Stana

👠 As you take each step, or if you feel yourself slipping, arch your foot slightly to put pressure on the inside of your shoe. This will make your shoe fit closer to your foot, making it easier to maneuver. –Kat

Until I read Kat's tip, I didn't realize that I was doing this subconsciously.–Stana

👠 If your shoes are ill-fitting, it makes the difficult task of walking naturally in heels almost impossible. If your heels are too big, use shoe pads for a better fit. If they are too small, consider having them stretched by a local cobbler, or try this hack to stretch them yourself. –Kat

If your shoes are well-constructed, a proper fit extends the length of time that wearing the heels will be comfortable. Also, it is very embarrassing to have a loose shoe slip off your foot while you are strutting your stuff (yet another been there, done that). –Stana

Wearing Venus.

Femulating in a YouTube advertisement (Alex's Theme).

The Seamy Side of Crossdressing

Is Marlo Thomas laughing at Ted Bessell's crooked seams?

I have to get something off my chest.

A male gets dressed as a female on a television show or in a film. When he is finished, someone comments that his seams are not straight. In response, our hero checks out his gams, notices the unseemly seam and proceeds to adjust his hosiery to fix his fashion faux pas.

I think the first time I saw that scene was on the television show That Girl. On that show, Marlo Thomas's hapless boyfriend, played by Ted Bessell, had to dress as a woman for some reason and Marlo's father, played by Lew Parker, noted Ted's crooked seam(s).

Since that time, I've seen this scene repeated numerous times and each time I see it, it bothers me.

Why?

Because there are NO SEAMS!!!!!

I admit that you can still find, buy, and wear seamed hosiery (I know it, I've done it), but in every instance in a film or television show where the seam scene plays out, the crossdresser is not wearing seamed hosiery.

After I saw this scene a few times, I thought I was missing something and started looking for seams in my seamless hosiery! When I could not find any seams, I realized that the seam joke was just a carryover from the days when women and crossdressers wore seamed hosiery; I assume the writer(s) think that the joke is so funny that they continue to use the crooked seam joke despite the lack thereof.

Seamless hosiery began replacing seamed hosiery about the same time I started crossdressing. I distinctly remember that the first few pairs of stockings that I borrowed from my mother had seams, then suddenly, she started buying seamless stockings, and not much later than that, she switched to pantyhose that were also seamless.

By the way, this tirade was set off by a photo on flickr that I viewed earlier today in which a crossdresser is straightening his seams (according to the photo caption), yet he is wearing seamless hosiery.

I'm glad I finally got that off my chest. Now I feel better!

Wearing Alexis Kirsten.

Steve Schepis on stage in La Cage Aux Folles.

My Store is Open!

In my last post, I mentioned that some readers asked how they can support the blog monetarily. One way is via Amazon. You buy something you want or need and the blog gets something, too.

Some of my blog posts have links to Amazon. If you click on one of those links that takes you to Amazon and you make a purchase, the blog receives a percentage of your payment.

I have also opened Stana’s Femulate Boutique, an Amazon aStore, where you can purchase items on Amazon that I use and recommend. I started populating my boutique with items to buy this weekend and I will be adding new items everyday.

If there is anything you want and don’t see in my boutique, let me know and I will add the item(s) as soon as possible.

Thank you for supporting the blog.

Wearing Etienne Aigner.

Marek Kaliszuk femulates Li'l Kim, Katarzyna Skrzynecka impersonates Christina Aguilera and Stefano Terrazzino femulates Pink on the Polish version of television's Your Face Sounds Familiar.

Weekend Wanderings

Source: Amanda Hawkins' TG Toons and Artwork

This cartoon from Pinterest makes me chuckle because something similar happened to me.

One spring day, while I was walking on Fifth Avenue in New York City, a group of young males approached from the opposite direction. As I passed them, one of the males remarked, "Dyke."

He had no idea how good that made me feel!

👱👱👱

Tammy wrote...

I am a big fan of your site. I look at it every day and I love the yearbook collection, especially the pictures from the 70's when I was in high school. I never participated in a womanless pageant so it's fun to live vicariously through the pictures.

Is there an easier way to see just the new photos rather than going through each letter of the alphabet and then going to the end of each album? In the past, you had one large collection with the most recent photosat the beginning, so it was easier to see the new additions. No matter what, Thanks for posting them!

I replied...

flickr made some changes and the other option did not always work reliably, so I decided not to mention it. Maybe it is working today, so if you want to try it, click here and hopefully the newest pictures will be at the beginning of my Photostream.

👱👱👱

Readers ask me how to support the blog monetarily.

One way is via Amazon. Some of my blog posts have links to Amazon, for example, here is a link for Avon makeup wipes. If you click on the link and purchase the makeup wipes or anything else on Amazon, the blog receives a percentage of your payment.

That is a very painless way to support the blog; you get something you want or need and the blog gets something, too.

So, support Femulate! And thank you in advance.

Wearing Elizabeth and James.

Zac Efron femulating in the 2017 film Baywatch.

Coming in April: Transgender Lives

The 11th Annual Transgender Lives Conference: The Intersection of Health and Law will be held on Saturday, April 29 from 8:00 AM until 5:00 PM at the UConn Health Center in Farmington, Connecticut.

This year's keynote speaker is Nicole Maines.

I will attend and present a workshop titled "Makeup Basics for Trans Females." In addition to mine, there will be more than 40 other workshops; here is a description of them all. There will also be a trans families track (four consecutive workshops) by PFLAG and a drop-in clinic by GLAD to help anyone change his or her birth certificate.

This conference is a full day concentrating on transgender lives, that is, concentrating on You. Admission is only $25 and includes a free lunch if you register before April 24 (who says, "There ain't no such thing as a free lunch.")

The UConn Health Center is located half way between Boston and New York City (about 110 miles either way) just off I-84 Exit 39, so it is an easy drive for folks living in the Northeast.

I hope to see you there. I'll be the 6-foot-2 blonde in 4-inch heels – you can't miss me!

Wearing Venus.

Dylan Stephens, male womenswear model

Youth

Leggy gurls from Texas, Virginia and Louisiana

When I attended my first True Color Conference in 2007, I do not recall any cisgender male students presenting as female. Maybe there were a few who passed so well that I did not detect their birth sex, but in general, the male students dressed like male students and the female students dressed like female students.

Fast forward 10 years and the situation is very, very different.

Thirty-two students attended my workshop on Friday and the majority presented as female or androgynous, while a minority presented as male. Most of the students presenting as female passed perfectly – if they were not attending my workshop (Makeup Basics for Trans Females), I would have never guessed that they were trans.

And I am still floored that one of the girls attending my workshop is a saleswoman at Sephora!

Wow – how the times have changed!

Meanwhile, cisgender boys are still turning up as girls in American schools for Halloween parties, gender bender days, womanless beauty pageants, etc., as evidenced by the latest batch of photos gleaned from online yearbooks by our intrepid yearbook gleaner, Starla.

You may view Starla's new photos on flickr by opening one of my flickr Yearbooks sets (A through Z). There you will find the newest uploads at the end/bottom of the set. (The oldest uploads appear at the beginning/top of the set.)

The contents of the Yearbook A through Z sets are organized according to school name, for example, the photos from Sacred Heart High School would be in the Yearbooks S set.

By the way, if you participated in your school's womanless beauty pageant or attended some other school activity en femme, I would love to post your photos along with any description you would like to provide. (No one has taken me up on this offer, so far, but I am still hopeful and very patient!)

Wearing Lulus.

Enrie Scielzo, male womenswear model

Wednesday Wanderings

Twisted Viewpoint

My perspective of the world around me is heavily influenced by being a transwoman.

A few days ago, one of the e-mail fashion newsletters I receive (The Cut) featured an article titled, "I’ve Started Dressing Like My Mother." You can guess what came to mind when I read that title, whereas a civilian would likely interpret that title very differently (and correctly).

So Retro

While I was touching up my makeup in the ladies' room at UConn on Friday, a young woman remarked, "I love your earrings!"

After I thanked her, I laughed to myself because I was wearing a big old pair of clip-ons, which I am told are so old school when compared to the pierced variety.

Good Reception

My friend Diana is active in various LGBT organizations and as a result, she gets to attend GLAD's annual "Justice for All" reception in Hartford. The reception attracts many of the makers and shakers of Connecticut's LGBT community as well as Governor Dan Malloy and other state politicians.

Diana invited me to attend the reception. Of course, I accepted her invitation and am very excited about the prospect of rubbing elbows with the Governor, who has been a big supporter of trans and gay people.

So what does a girl wear to a Sunday afternoon reception that the Governor will be attending?

Wearing Talbots.

Still femulating at the 2017 Night of Stars in Austria.

Tuesday Tips

In the past, I recommended baby wipes for removing makeup. After all, if it's safe enough to use on a baby's bottom, then it should be safe to use on your face.

Friday evening, when I was ready to take off my makeup, I discovered I was out of baby wipes. I remembered that in the recent past, I had acquired a package of Avon makeup wipes that had been bundled with some other cosmetic products I had purchased.

I found the package and used three wipes to remove all my makeup including my eye makeup and the foundation and powder on my neck. The wipes did a better job than baby wipes. With baby wipes, I always had to use Avon eye makeup remover on my eyes, but the makeup wipes handled my eye makeup without any added help.

That sold me on makeup wipes.

By the way, after removing makeup, I always moisturize and you should, too.

👱 👱 👱

When I did my "Makeup Basics for Trans Females" presentation on Friday, there was one tip that surprised a lot of the girls in attendance, so I thought I would pass it on to the girls who read Femulate, too. It is no big revelation. It is something I learned long ago – probably during my first makeover. I assumed it was common knowledge, but my assumption was in error, so here it is.

When you apply foundation, make sure you also apply it to anything contiguous with your face that will show. That includes your ears, neck, and whatever portion of your breasts and shoulders that will be visible. Otherwise, there will be an odd-looking mismatch between your face and yours ears, neck, etc.

👱 👱 👱

During my presentation, the girls were curious about what brands of cosmetics I use. Since I am an Avon representative, I use a lot of Avon products, but I do stray away from Avon for some of the makeup I use.

Here is a list of what I use currently (in the order I use them).

Moisturiser – Olay
Eye Shadow Primer – Urban Decay
Foundation – Make Up For Ever
Contour – Marc Jacobs
Blush – Avon
Translucent Powder – Laura Mercier
Eyebrow Pencil – Avon
Eyeshadow – Avon
Eyeliner – Avon ( I use black eyeshadow with an eyeliner brush)
Mascara – Lancome
Undereye Concealer – Avon
Lipliner – Avon
Lipstick – Avon

👱 👱 👱

Any questions?

Wearing By Bazaar.

Femulators at the 2017 Night of Stars in Austria.