A femulator at Casa Susanna, circa 1964
Herstory Dept.
Read a great article by Alicia Winokur about the history of Tiffany Club, a support group for crossdressers and transexuals during the Dark Ages of the last century. I came out in the middle of that history, so it was nice to backfill what I missed. The story is New England-centric and I actually knew some of the people involved, so it is a story that is near and dear to me, but I think anyone who was a member of a support group during the late 20th Century will find the article interesting.
(Thank you Stephanie for alerting me to the article.)
She Gets My Vote Dept.
Heather wrote, “I've voted in person today. The lady who checked me in didn‘t realize that the name on the ballot and ID didn‘t match the image of the lady standing before her. She said I looked great. I had many positive comments.”
I often considered voting in person en femme, but worried that when I showed my male photo ID, all hell would break loose. But Heather’s story inspired me to do it next time I vote in person, so wait ’til next year as I already voted by absentee ballot this year.
Can’t Get Too Much Wetter Dept.
Aunty emailed, “For my Guys to Gurls on Stage and Screen flickr group, I dug a little more into Mr./Ms. Wetter's background and came across him femulating Sissy Spacek in a video artist's homage to Brian DePalma's masterwork, Carrie. Brice Dellsperger has done 40 separate videos where he or other men assume female roles, such as in his first Body Double video that was based on DePalma's Dressed to Kill, and in that one he plays the Angie Dickinson role amazingly well.
Click here to view Brice Dellsperger’s videos (Alexandre Wetter as Carrie is “Body Double 32” and Brice Dellsperger as Angie Dickinson is “Body Double 1”).
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| Rocking a Stand coat and Intermix dress |
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| Lil Nas X femulated Nicki Minaj for Halloween, 2020 |
I read the article on the history of TCNE. It made me cry.
ReplyDeleteWe are so fortunate to have so much more freedom today
Melissa Lynn you had so much courage.
I remember in 1980, I would spend hours in a the local library looking for information on cross dressing and transgender.
Somewhere in the back of a book somewhere I found it among a list of self help organizations
International Foundation for Gender Education
PO Box xxx
Wayland Ma.
At that moment I knew I wasn't alone
Thank you
Melissa
Your comments bring up the 'bad old days', where one would be discretely
Deletelooking through the card catalog (wazzat?) or looking through the stacks fishing 'in just about the right area of the psychology section', hoping for a real, viable lead on 'your interests'.
Approach the librarian? Not a chance!
A friend wrote a book on HIS personal 'kink' and found quite quickly, the legitimate publishers wanted nothing to do with his works. He finally got published in the late 1980's when a noted psychoanalyst, who used this friends biography in his own book, literally coerced the publishers to TAKE BOTH BOOKS, or NONE at all...
Nonetheless, the next step was to jump the next hurdle, that being the LIBRARIANS, who practice their OWN self motivated censorship role, who found his book to be 'outside the mainstream', so they simply chose to not purchase.... Yet some did.
Then along came the internet, and everything changed.
Velma
Yes the Internet changed everything.
DeleteYour description of searching discreetly thru the card catalog, and stacks of Psychology books for a thread of info is exactly what I was doing.
And ask the librarian oh gosh no way. I remember a librarian asking me once "Can I help you? What are you looking for?"
The truthful answer was I really didn't now.
i was at university as a mature student about 20 years ago, and much to my surprise i found a book about tranvestism (probably in the "psychology" section - it may even have been the one mentioned above) lurking in one of the large libraries. it may have been a reference book anyway, but as one still on the cusp of coming out there was no way i was going to borrow it. apart from worrying about what the staff would think of me, it would also end up on the uni's computerised records. so i visited the place several times over in short order, and eventually read it all whilst positioning myself at a strategically-chosen table (fortunately this was on a different campus to the one i usually attended, and thus i was not likely to get caught doing so by any familiar faces).
Deleteironically, i also had proper internet access for the first time around that point (which of course was akin to an alcoholic being given the keys to the off-licence!). but even so, it was a goldmine of information and proved most useful with regard to my public emergence. the tip i still remember now from reading it is: after shaving the normal downwards way with regular foam/gel, smear some savlon antiseptic cream over the beard area and shave again - but this time "against the grain"!
Tell me about it! I had to go to the Library of Congress to find anything. I'm surprised I survived the deadly looks I got from the librarian(s) when I requested titles about "Transvestism" -- and the even uglier looks when they delivered the books. Those titles were kept in a "special" reading room and were not allowed out of that space. I can only imagine how my life might have turned out if the Internet had been around in the 1950's!
DeleteAnd Velma, I also knew my way around the card catalog!!!
I liked the Body Double ECAL Lausanne.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing
A couple of things…
ReplyDeleteThe oldest continuous trans support group closed it doors this past March, the Twenty Club started in 1971 and closed because of declining membership.
You can read my blog about the XX Club here… https://dianacorner.blogspot.com/2020/03/the-end-of-era-twenty-club-1971-2020.html
I donated almost the entire set of Tapestry the Center Connecticut State University LGBTQ+ collection.
XX Club is referenced in the historic map accompanying the article (https://tinyurl.com/y6bma3f5)
DeleteStana,
ReplyDeleteThank you, as always, for publishing this story. I found it very poignant-simultaneously celebratory and sad.
Oh, do I remember those days at the card catalogue. Careful not to be spotted by the librarian. Hopeful that the nuns didn't crack the code that this sixth grader knew more about "The Transvaal" than other students given its placement in some of the more progressive encyclopedias in the 60s/70s. Then came the internet, which produces its own celebrations and sadness for this closeted CD.
Oh well, thanks again for publishing the article and the comments. As the article notes, it helps to know I'm not alone
Best--Susan
Thank you Stana for the shout out!
ReplyDeleteI felt jitters prior to going to the polls, I wouldn't have my safety net (my wife) along for moral support because she was volunteering at our friend's cat spay/neuter charity and she physically wouldn't be able to wait in line for the estimated 2 hours or even the realized 30 minutes.
It was totally uneventful. The check-in lady was very nice. I don't think I got a second look or sideways glance while I was out. After voting, I went to the volunteer location and showed off my outfit and picked up a pumpkin pie a friend had gotten from Costco. Another friend complimented my choice of wig and my wife suggested that by wearing the face mask, nobody would think I were anything but Ms. Heather Waters.
I was so emboldened by my success, Saturday I went to the supermarket (grocery store in east coast parlance) en femme as I needed to pick up a couple things and some cash to pay for the pumpkin pie. I stopped at Debbie's house with the cash and asked her if she'd let me join her political group B**ches for Biden, she said I looked great. Her spouse soon came home and had no idea of who I was until I dropped my mask.
I think it was a smashing success!
Heather
I neglected to mention two important things!
DeleteLast Wednesday my kids treated me to what was my first manicure with color. I'd had one manicure back in 1989, at my ex-wife's parent's home in Manila. Just a manicure and clear polish.
I chose a pink to match my skirt. Pink gel polish on my fingers. It really holds up well. I made the decision to keep the polish on. I went to work yesterday in drab mode with some very un drab glossy pink nails. I showed everyone at work that I'd not removed them, even! Not a nick or chip in any of the nails nearly a week after application. When I use regular nail paint, it's chipped as soon as I've washed dishes or done laundry. $30 well spent.
OMG, I'm in heaven.
Thanks, kids!