Three Strikes and You’re Out

Last week, they postponed the True Colors Conference. Sunday evening, they cancelled Hamvention. Monday evening Tuesday morning, they postponed cancelled the Transgender Lives Conference. So all three conferences where I was presenting have been affected by the Coronavirus, also known as the “Trump Flu.”

Damn!

On a happier note, Peaches alerted me to an intriguing article about British cartoonist Steven Appleby, who crossdresses full-time.

Going to wash my hands now.

Wearing Price

Cartoonist Steven Appleby

Worn-Out Workshops

2013 True Colors Conference presenter

A friend returned from Fantasia Fair and reported that her workshop had only two attendees. Been there, done that.

Over the years, I’ve conducted about 25 workshops and a few times, only a couple of people showed up. On the other hand, a few times the attendance was standing room only.

Usually, the attendance is somewhere in between. Oddly, the topics of my workshops don’t vary much, so attendance (or lack thereof) must be due to other factors. 

I am sure that the description of the workshop appearing in the event’s program makes a difference.

One time, the description I provided was something like “how to femulate successfully.” The intended audience were students and attendance was poor. After all, how many kids read a blog written by an old white lady – so they were clueless as to what “femulate” meant? Next time, the description I provided was something like “how to crossdress successfully.” Same intended audience, but attendance was SRO. 

Another factor is the competition.

Are there a lot of workshops in your time slot, thus your potential audience has too many to choose from. Or are the workshops in your time slot sexier than your workshop and likely to attract a bigger crowd than yours?

I think my friend at Fantasia Fair had too much competition. There was a potential audience of about 100 attendees, while there were four workshops scheduled in her time slot. In addition to the competition from three other workshops, her workshop had to compete with all the extracurricular activities that Cape Cod has to offer. Unless you are Caitlyn Jenner, you have to work hard to attract a crowd in that situation.

My best showing at Fantasia Fair was when I had the “Femulate Blog Party.” I advertised it here in the blog everyday for weeks beforehand and as a result, about 15 people showed up. (My other Fantasia Fair presentations were less successful attendance-wise.) 

My friend added, “I don't think workshops are that important now. Not sure what is.”

She has a point. You can find lots of the topics covered by workshops on the Internet for free, so who needs to slog to a trans convention.

Are events like Fantasia Fair, First Event, Keystone Conference, Southern Comfort, etc. becoming more social events and less venues where you can learn something. Who needs another “how to crossdress successfully” workshop?

I guess I have been around the block a few times too many and I don’t need no stinkin’ workshops. But I still attend workshops – more to socialize than to learn. Afterall, I am at a trans conference, so I might as well fill the time by attending a few workshops.

On the other hand, novices will probably get more by attending live workshops than by viewing the same on the Internet. It is one thing to view “how to crossdress successfully” from the safety of your closet. It is another thing to get all dressed up and attend the same workshop in person en femme.

Until I attended my first convention, I was pretty much closeted only going out en femme to attend my support group’s bi-monthly meetings. By attending conventions in hotels filled with civilians, I slowly built up my confidence and eventually I was able to go anywhere I desired without a net. Not sure how much the workshops helped, but attending conventions sure made a difference.

By the way, it is that time of year when I can submit workshop proposals for two local conferences that occur early next year: True Colors and Transgender Lives. Not sure I want to do “how to crossdress successfully” again. Not sure there is even a need for “how to crossdress successfully.”

Let me ask you: If you were attending a conference, what would you like to hear me workshop about?

Wearing Veronica Beard

Neil Patrick Harris and David Burtka femulate the Olsen twins at Heidi Klum's 2019 Halloween party

Living Lives

Saturday, I spent the day at the UConn Health Center attending the Transgender Lives Conference. (That's me in the photo above at the conclusion of the conference hanging out to catch friends for final goodbyes.)

Fashionista Atención 👉 The weather was unseasonably cold and the rooms at the Health Center run hot and cold, so I wore a long-sleeved shift dress (JB by Julie Brown) and topped it off with a shrug (Avon). Accessories were silver earrings (Napier), scarf, white watch and charm bracelet (Avon), nude high heel pumps (Payless) and a Coach bag. (I received a whole bunch of positive comments about my outfit at the conference.)

I was up at 6 AM to get ready to arrive at the Health Center between 8 and 9 AM. I was out the door at 8:15 and arrived at the conference 20 minutes later.

I checked in, got my presentation packet and walked one flight up where coffee was available. Problem was that the conference opened in the auditorium on the first floor, so I had to walk downstairs in heels with a cup of coffee in one hand (there were no tops for the cups) and my bag and presentation packet in the other hand with no hands left to hold onto the railing on the staircase. I climbed downstairs as gingerly as possible, but I still spilled some coffee on myself along the way!

There were four time slots for workshops. My presentation was in the third slot (at 1 PM) and I attended workshops in other three slots.

"Meet the Publisher and Contributors to Connecticut Voice" was a pitch to contribute articles to Voice, a new slick magazine for the Connecticut LGBT community.

"Title Withheld to Protect the Clueless" — I was clueless going into this workshop and I exited this workshop just as clueless. The folks conducting this workshop seemed to know what they were talking about, but I didn't get it. Afterwords, I asked a friend who also attended this workshop and she exited just as clueless as I was.

"The History of Transgender History" was presented by Dallas Denny, famed author and editor of transgender writings and someone I consider a friend. Dallas talked about how transgender history was basically forgotten in earlier days and how it has grown in importance with various people and organizations archiving everything they can get their hands on today.

Lunch was served at the halfway point. While in the lunch line, I met up with Dana, a Femulate reader who drove up from Philadelphia Saturday morning (216 miles) to attend the conference and in particular, see my presentation. We ate lunch together, where we discussed a variety of transgender topics and previewed my presentation.

My presentation, "Crossdressing Successfully in the Real World," was lightly attended, but the folks in attendance got an earful. We only ended the presentation when the folks attending the next presentation kicked us out of the room!

I met up with other friends, acquaintances and celebrities, most notably, Ariadne Kane, a transgender pioneer who is most famous for being one of the founders of Fantasia Fair*. Ari attended my presentation and we exchanged phone numbers so that we can continue our discussion in the near future.

Attendance seemed down from previous Transgender Lives Conferences I have attended, but those in attendance yesterday were very interested and enthusiastic, which made up for the lower attendance numbers.

It was a very eclectic crowd and all ages were in attendance. In particular, I noticed more people who appeared older than me than I had noticed in the past. Don't know what that means, but there you have it!

It was a great conference and I am already planning my presentation for next year.

* I just noticed that my book, Fantasia Fair Diaries, is referenced in Wikipedia's entry for "Fantasia Fair."

Wearing BCBGMAXAZRIA (Source: Rue La La)

📺 Eugeniusz Bodo femulates Mae West in the 1937 Polish film Piętro Wyżej.

Don't Forget!

The Transgender Lives Conference is on the Saturday. It is the biggest trans conference in the Northeast and I will be there presenting "Out Among the Civilians" between 1 and 2 PM.!

This link 🔗 provides all you need to know about the conference which runs all day Saturday at the UConn Health Center in Farmington, Connecticut.

I hope I will see you there!

(Source: Pinterest)

Grzegorz Wilk femulates Amanda Lear on Polish television's Your Face Sounds Familiar.

T Lives Conference Almost Here

Next weekend is a big holiday weekend, so the weekend following it might get lost in the shuffle. The Transgender Lives Conference is on the Saturday after the Easter/Passover weekend, so I wanted to remind anyone considering attending that the Conference is fast approaching.

The Conference attracts attendees from all over the Northeast and is the biggest conference of its kind in this neck of the woods. If you can make it to the Conference, you will be rewarded with a very fulfilling day.

This link 🔗 provides all you need to know about the conference which runs all day Saturday at the UConn Health Center in Farmington, Connecticut. My presentation "Out Among the Civilians" runs for an hour between 1 and 2 PM.

I hope I will see you there!

Wearing Unique Vintage (Source: Unique Vintage)

Jack Haley (right) femulated in a lost scene from the 1945 film George White Scandals.

Transgender Lives is Live

Attending the Transgender Lives Conference, April 2017

Everything you wanted to know about the upcoming Transgender Lives Conference is now online.

"The Thirteenth Annual Transgender Lives: The Intersection of Health and Law Conference being held on Saturday, April 27th at the UConn Health Center from 8:00 AM till 5 PM. This all day conference is geared towards Service Providers, Medical and Legal Professionals, Trans and Gender non-conforming community, allies and all those interested in the Health and Law issues facing the Trans and gender non-conforming communities.

"General Registration price is $25 per person (including lunch), $50 for anyone seeking CEC credits from the National Association of Social Workers of CT (NASW/CT). Can't afford it? We will have scholarships available the day of the event. The first 25 walk-ins will receive a free lunch."

👠 Online registration is available here.

👠 General information about the conference is available here.

👠 A list of workshops and presentations is available here and the workshop/presentation schedule is here.

👠 And the bios of each presenter is available here.

I will be presenting "Crossdressing Successfully in the Real World" to encourage male-to-female crossdressers to escape from fantasyland and experience the real world as females.

The Conference is strategically located at the UConn Health Center in Farmington, Connecticut, halfway between Boston and New York City — an easy 2-hour/120-mile ride from either city. As a result, it is well-attended, but there is always room for you and I hope to see you there!

Wearing Rachel Zoe (Source: Rachel Zoe)

Alex Wetter, male womenswear model

Notes on Coming Soon

True Colors Conference, March 2009

Monday's post titled "Coming Soon" listed the public events I will attend this spring, i.e., True Colors Conference, Transgender Lives Conference and Hamvention.

For over a decade, I have regularly attended these events mixing it up with civilians and non-civilian attendees alike. Transgender Lives has more non-civilian attendees than True Colors and Hamvention. Whereas Hamvention has more civilian attendees than Transgender Lives and True Colors. True Colors falls somewhere in between.

True Colors' attendees are primarily LGBT youth and secondarily, their providers (teachers, social workers, etc.) and supporters. First time I attended True Colors in 2007, there was only a small handful of attendees trans-dressed... maybe only two or three who were brave enough to show up presenting in their transgender/true-gender.

Society has changed during the last dozen years and at last year's True Colors, there were many boys and girls in attendance happily presenting in their transgender/true-gender.

Transgender Lives' attendees are primarily transgenders, their providers, supporters and family members. Most transgenders attending Transgender Lives present as their transgender/true-gender  although I have encountered some who attended in their birth gender like the husband and wife who attended one of my "how to femulate" workshops in order to learn how to crossdress (husband wanted to, wife was encouraging, but they did not know where to start).

Transgender Lives and True Colors conferences are very supportive, respective and sympathetic, so all transgenders will feel comfortable attending either event. Adults may feel a little out of place attending the youth-centric True Colors, but the kids are great and when I attend, I receive countless hugs and greetings from people who are young enough to be my grandchildren – it makes me feel great and so maternal that I forget about being an old lady !

Hamvention is completely different... 28,000 civilians and a handful of transgenders attending in their transgender/true-gender.

Ham radio operators are reputed to be on the conservative side of the political spectrum, so that gave me pause when I considered attending Hamvention for the first time in my transgender/true-gender. So the first time (2010), I did not stray from the booth I was staffing during the day and I played it safe in the evening attending my group's banquet one night and a larger banquet the next night accompanied by my supportive and protective female editor.

After eight trips to Hamvention en femme, I learned I had nothing to fear. Friends and acquaintances from the past who knew me en homme were very supportive and treated me like a lady. And civilians assumed I was just another middle-aged woman dragged to Hamvention by her ham radio husband. So I blended in and freely flitted about the convention taking it all in just as I do attending True Colors or Transgender Lives.

Wearing Bebe (Source: Bebe)

Harry S. Franklyn, Roaring Twenties professional femulator 

Coming Soon

Presenting at Hamvention, May 2018

Friday, I will be staffing the Information Booth at the True Colors Conference at my alma mater, University of Connecticut in Storrs, Connecticut. Usually I do a workshop at the conference, but I was late submitting my proposal and there were no slots available. So I volunteered for booth duty.

Next month, on April 27, I will be attending and presenting at the Transgender Lives Conference at the UConn Health Center in Farmington, Connecticut. I will be doing a workshop about the trials, tribulations and successes of crossdressing among civilians in my neck of the woods.

In mid-May, I will be making my annual pilgrimage to the Dayton, Ohio metroplex to attend Hamvention, the biggest ham radio convention this side of the Arctic Circle. Besides staffing my group's booth at the show, I will also make a short presentation at my group's forum to urge folks to contribute to our quarterly publication, which I edit.

And so I go!

Wearing Boston Proper (Source: Boston Proper)

Coach Ed femulates again at El Reno (Oklahoma) High School, 2003.

Stuck

I am stuck. After losing 20 pounds last year, I have not lost any additional weight. It is no mystery why; I eat and I cheat.

My goal is lose 25 pounds total and I would like to do it before I head out for my long weekend en femme in Ohio next month. I have four weeks to do it and I know I can if I don't cheat.

The trip to Ohio is for Hamvention, the big ham radio convention held annually in the Dayton area. If you are a ham (or not) and plan to attend, I hope we can make an "eyeball QSO."

A lot closer to home, I will be attending and presenting at the Transgender Lives Conference on April 28 at the UConn Health Center in Farmington, Connecticut. Again, if you plan to attend, I hope we can meet in person.

If you have been reading this blog for awhile, you know what I look like, but most likely, I don't know what you look like, so if you see me at Hamvention or Transgender Lives, or anywhere else,  don't be shy — I'd love to meet you, so please introduce yourself and I'll talk your ear off!

Wearing H&M

Femulating on stage for the Australian Army during World War II.

Got Real?

Saturday, I will be presenting "Crossdressing in the Real World" with Jan Brown at the UConn Health Center for Transgender Lives: The Intersection of Health and Law Conference.

My head spins when I read all the recent good transgender news.  I don't know what to make of it. 

We seem to be "it" as far as the news media is concerned, so every story with a transgender twist gets publicized. Even my local Neanderthal newspaper has published positive transgender news.

Is it real or is it just the media making hay while the sun shines?

My heart wishes it was real, but my gut says it ain't necessarily so especially when I read stories about haters, like those in California who are trying to control where we urinate and defecate. Or haters who maim and kill as if it was open season on transpeople.

Maybe things are getting better, but just in case, take Sergeant Phil Esterhaus words to heart and let's be careful out there.

Wearing Sara Emanuel (left) and Valentino (right).

"A Woman Inside" by Emmatyan

Stana's Got a Brand New Bag

My co-workers have seen me as a woman the last three Halloweens in a row in addition to two other Halloweens around the turn of the century. If they looked closely, they also may have seen me wear items of woman's clothing on days that do not fall on the last day of October including lady's shoes, hosiery, slacks, jeans and tunics. If they had X-ray vision, panties, bras, and girdles would also be seen on occasion.

If the weather is bad or if I have a doctor's appointment on a workday, I work from home. This necessitates carrying my laptop home everyday.

My computer bag is now carrying its third laptop. It is showing its age and features a broken zipper and a handle which is going to give up the ghost any day now.

When I received a new laptop a few weeks ago, I mentioned to my boss that I could use a new computer bag, too. She told me to buy a new one and expense it.

I began shopping for a new computer bag and was surprised that on the Staples website, there are  computer bags offered for men, women, girls and the unisexed. (Why not "boys" is the subject for another blog post.) Naturally, I checked out the women's computer bags and found a few that were decidedly womanly.

I thought about it for a day or two and finally ordered a women's computer bag that looks more like a woman's bag than a computer bag (see image above). I look forward to carrying it to work!

Alison St. John