Separated at Birth

In an email titled, “She looks just like you...,” Tami wrote, “when i first saw this short video i thought it was you!”

I was flattered and responded, “Separated at birth! LOL”

Tami retorted, “You should post her video and link to her site... see if others see the resemblance that I saw. She also seems to have a similar fashion sense, with pretty feminine clothing. She also has very feminine mannerisms - she’s someone all of us 'gurls' should strive to femulate!”

Do I resemble her, who BTW goes by the name “Deborah Boland”? 

In my opinion, there is some resemblance especially when my hair is blond. But I should be so thin – Deborah probably weighs 70 pounds less than me! 

I do agree that our fashion sense is similar – emphasizing pretty feminine clothing – and my mannerisms are comparable to hers. And absolutely yes, she is someone all of us should strive to femulate.

By the way, Deborah also has a YouTube page, which I now subscribe to.  Coincidentally, I also am subscribed to Schellea’s Fabulous 50s YouTube page. (Wonder if there is a Fabulous 70s YouTube page. If not, maybe I should start one!)

Wearing New York & Company

Abdel Moneim Ibrahim femulating in the 1960 Egyptian film Sukkar Hanem (Lady Sugar).

MonaLisa Twins

Viewing music videos on the Internet (YouTube) Saturday night, one thing led to another. In this case, after watching The Beatles lip sync Paperback Writer, YouTube suggested viewing a video by MonaLisa Twins performing Please Mr. Postman/Wipe Out.

I had never heard of the MonaLisa Twins, but I viewed the video and was spellbound by the twin Austrian sisters’ performance videotaped live in Liverpool’s The Cavern Club no less. I was hooked, so much so that I viewed about a dozen more of their videos.

They do a lot of Beatles’ tunes as well as other rock songs from the 1960s and 1970s. Obligatory femulation connection: the Twins also cover The Kinks Lola.

Check them out – you won‘t be disappointed.

Wearing Boston Proper

Flip Wilson femulating on a 1977 episode of television’s The Sonny & Cher Show.

I want to be feminine the way boys are

I discovered femboys on TikToc. Actually, I discovered YouTube video compilations of femboys on TikTok. 

A femboy is a biological male, typically under the age of 30, who presents himself in a feminine manner, full-time or more typically, part-time. 

Femboys typically dress in very feminine outfits – clothing that most females would normally shun, for example, French maid and Lolita outfits. On the other hand, some femboys dress in outfits that young women might wear on the street, but the majority seem to favor the more flamboyant girly outfits.

Some femboys wear makeup and some wear wigs, but the fact that one is a femboy says nothing about one’s sexuality or gender. Femboys may be straight, gay, bisexual, pansexual, asexual, etc. and may identify as male or female.

I was surprised about how open the femboys are about being femboys. 

Go to YouTube, search on “femboy” and be amazed!

Wearing Venus

Jai Rodriguez

Femulating Friday

What’s New Dept.

A week ago, a new computer arrived at Femulate headquarters and I have been busy setting it up. That is the reason there have been no new posts here since Sunday.

The old computer was literally falling apart. Part of the lid broke off and a couple of keys were intermittent. IT (I) replaced the battery in the spring, but it did not improve battery life much. So the Femulate board of directors approved the purchase of a new computer.

I hemmed and hawed over what to buy for over a month. I finally decided to purchase a new 15-inch MacBook Pro to replace my 7-year-old 15-inch MacBook Pro. 

Just as I was about to order a new computer, news arrived that Apple was introducing a new 16-inch MacBook Pro on Thursday. I did not hesitate. I placed an order on Wednesday and FedEx delivered the new computer on Friday.

I’m so glad that I hemmed and hawed!

Brothers Will Be Sisters Dept.

YouTube knows that I am a femulator, so whenever I visit YouTube, it offers me a bunch of femulator-oriented videos to view.

I could not help noticing the proliferation of videos in which a female makes over her brother. Some of the makeover results are amazing. Due to family resemblance, the brother may end up resembling his sister, which is likely to occur because the sister is making her brother up using the same techniques she uses to makeup her self. And in some cases, the sister’s goal is to makeover her brother to look just like her.

The brothers are very cooperative. Some try to hang onto their masculinity by joking about their transformation, but in the end, they permit their sisters to complete the job and seem to enjoy the results.

There are variations of the brother makeover theme: girlfriends making over their boyfriends, mothers making overs their sons and wives making over their husbands. 

Beware! There are some fakes out there in YouTube Land, but after you separate the wheat from the chaff, there are hundreds of genuine transformations.

Wearing Wholesale7

Another variation: femulating brother transforms her brother. See for yourself here!

Woodstock

Fifty years ago, I convinced two friends to take a short drive with me to upstate New York to attend a rock concert. That rock concert was called "Woodstock" and the rest is history.

I took my Kodak Super 8 movie camera along for the ride and shot a roll of film. Actually, I only shot a half roll of film that weekend, but about six weeks later, I made the trip a second time and shot the rest of the roll.

After the film was developed, I cut and spliced the film to compare scenes of Woodstock during and six weeks after the event.

I recently digitized the film and uploaded it to YouTube where you can see for yourself what I saw at Yasgur's farm in 1969.

Enjoy!

Redux Redux

Reunion Redux Dept.

In addition to being disappointed about not attending my high school class reunion as a woman, I was also upset that I was disappointing all my blog's readers and I apologize for that.

There was talk at the reunion about getting together and doing it again when we all turn 70 years old. I am not holding my breath knowing my class' poor track record regarding reunions, but if it does occur, it will give me a second chance.

A few of my old tormentors were in attendance, but I did not socialize with them even though all but one seemed to be on good their behavior. However, the "one" was still the boorish lout he was in high school.

By the way, no one attended crossdressed, but a lot of people were disguised as old people!

Video Redux Dept.

If you have not seen it, the video of my presentation at last month's Hamvention is now viewable here on YouTube.

A ham radio operator who did see it, wrote the following.

I first ventured into Packet as soon as I earned my tech license. But getting started was difficult. No one in my circle of friends knew anything about packet setup, but a digi atop a 2700 foot mountain was incentive enough. So I drove to the Tigard HRO store and bought a book on the subject published by wa1lou. The information in the book explained the pin out for cables, what the settings should be, and go me on the air with a DOS machine, a Radio Shack 202, and a used MFJ 1278 TNC. And I've followed this author, Stanley, throughout the past 30 years. A few years ago wa1lou became editor of the TAPR newsletter. So this year, when TAPR emailed me the forum schedules I took a look did I ever find a surprise: Stanley, wa1lou, looks and sounds like a woman. And carries a purse. It's okay by me. Gender never crossed my mind. I'll still read everything she offers because even though she claims she's not high-tech she can sure simplify the path to success.

And so it goes.

Wearing Retrofete (Source: ShopBop)

Femulating in Berlin in the 1920's

Today is Tuesday

We Will Miss Dress Barn

Heather informed me about this interesting Vox article "When I couldn’t tell the world I wanted to transition, I went to Dressbarn." I'm sure many of you can relate to this piece as did I.

Stairs and High Heels

This how-to from Abby of Vivian Lou Insolia insoles fame is worth reviewing even if you read it before.

While it's quite empowering to dress up and get out and about, I've been reminded (on more than one occasion) to be careful on the stairs!

Let's quickly review the 'how to' of stairs in heels.

Going Up

:: Visualize a straight line going up toward your end point, rather than looking down at your feet as you climb.

:: As you walk up the step, place your body weight on the ball of the foot. This means that the back of the heel will most likely hang off the step.

:: While ascending, place one foot right in front of the other on the next step.

:: Hold on to the railing if necessary.

Going Down

:: Hold the railing for support. Keep your grip strong, but relax the rest of your arm and shoulder. Gently glide your hand down the railing as you descend.

:: At first, you may need to look down at the stairs to determine depth and steepness. After a few steps (if possible), visualize a straight line going toward your end point, rather than looking down at your heels.

:: Place as much of the shoe (heel and front of the shoe) on the step as possible. Depending on the depth of the step, you may want to push your shoe back until it touches the back of the step to make sure as much shoe as possible is making contact.

:: If the stairs are narrow, you may try tilting your body at a 45 degree angle feet and stepping down on an angle. Place one foot in front of the other on the next step down. This method definitely takes practice!

:: Go slow. Take your time heading down stairs in heels. Better to be safe than sorry!

As with most other difficult tasks, the more you walk up and down stairs in heels, the easier it becomes.

Finding the Right Eyebrow Color for Your Hair

Women like us can switch hair color faster than you can say "Henry Margu." When I switched from blonde to the brunette-red mix I wear today, I noticed that my eyebrow color did not look right. Did I need to go lighter or darker?

This article from InStyle would have helped and will help you if you make the switch.

Me on YouTube

I appear at 1:57 in this YouTube video collection of photos from Hamvention.

Wearing Venus

Yours truly wearing Venus

FYI: Links

Source: Wikipedia

It has come to my attention that some readers are not getting the full benefit of this blog. In particular, the links in the Femulate Her and Femulator slots below.

Femulate Her links typically go to the website of the seller of the item(s) worn by the Femulate Her model. Occasionally, the links go to the webpage of the actual item the model is wearing.

If the Femulator is an individual, there may be a link to Wikipedia or another website that describes the individual. If the Femulator image is from a film or television show, there may be a link to a video (typically on YouTube) that shows the femulation.

For example, today's Femulate Her goes to the Veronica Beard website. And today's Femulator link goes to YouTube where you can view the entire film, This Is the Army.

What alerted me to this issue was a comment from a reader who said she had never seen a femulation from television's Your Face Sounds Familiar and wondered if the performers lip-synched. This surprised me because whenever Your Face Sound Familiar is in the Femulator slot, I usually include a link to a video of that television show's femulation. By the way, the Your Face Sounds Familiar performers do not lip-synch.

And while on the subject of links, if you click on any link in this blog that takes you to Amazon and you make any purchase during that Amazon visit, your purchase helps to support this blog. So thank-you for your support.

Wearing Veronica Beard (Source: Veronica Beard) (I love this skirt suit!)

Alan Manson femulating in the 1943 film This Is the Army.

Reflections of a "Booth Babe"

Brenda commented on the video of my short presentation at Hamvention last month.

"Stana, you definitely have natural feminine mannerisms that come out in the video. You were 5 nine plus 60db and owned the moment. I hope this gives you the increased confidence that you are the woman that you are and can enjoy life as a woman without hesitation. You have shown us how the thought of coming out is terrifying and even more so where some may know your past but many people have no idea and just see a vibrant woman on stage as the TAPR secretary. Compliments are in order. You looked just fabulous. How about blogging as how you felt being a wonderful booth babe?

Your wish is my command, Brenda.

I confess that on the first time I staffed our booth as a woman in 2010, I was a little fearful about interacting with strangers and felt safer ensconced in our booth.

I spent the morning of the first day of the convention working in the "background" of our booth assisting the guys who were on the firing line interacting with customers.

In the afternoon, the firing line got busier, so I stepped up and began interfacing with the customers. They had questions and wanted information about our products. They did not care who was delivering that information and I quickly felt comfortable in the role of dispensing that information.

Being the only booth babe in our booth, I noticed that I was attracting customers away from the booth boys. Some of our customers actually held off dealing with the boys and waited patiently for their turn to talk with me. So, I thoroughly enjoyed the afternoon as the booth babe and after

However, staffing the booth at Hamvention, I got a taste of the prejudices that professional woman face every day.

Approximately 15% of the US ham population are female and the attendees at Hamvention reflected that statistic. By far, the males outnumbered females.

The people staffing booths at Hamvention also reflected that statistic. Some booths have no females, some of the bigger booths have one or two females and a few booths have a bevy of women, but they are professional "booth babes" hired to attract customers.

Some of the visitors to our booth must have read me as the equivalent of a booth babe. On one occasion, a guy approached me at the booth and asked, "Do you know anything?"

Damn! After 50 years in the hobby, I probably knew more about ham radio than he did. I was so taken aback by the question that I did not have a quick comeback. Instead, I did my duty and politely answered his question with a smile.

That moment is probably the low point of my eight stints as a booth babe. If that is the "low point," I guess I am doing OK especially in contrast to some of the high points.

For example, while I was staffing the booth, another guy asked me a question that I could not handle, so I jokingly said, "You'll have to ask him (referring to one of the guys staffing our booth) because I am just a 'booth babe'"

His response was, "And a very good 'booth babe'!"

Still another a guy stopped by and remarked that he remembered me from the previous year because I had bought a receiver kit from his booth. I recalled buying the item, but I did not recall him, so I used my feminine charms and managed to never admit that I did not remember him. And he went away a happy camper.

Countless guys smiled and/or winked at me when they walked past my booth. Women smiled at me too, but in a different way. As you know, there is a big difference between a man-to-woman smile and a woman-to-woman smile.

One fellow, who was staffing another booth nearby visited our booth to get better acquainted. He was interested in taking me out for a date during the convention, but then he noticed my wedding ring, asked about it and then backed off when I explained that I was happily married.

I thoroughly enjoy my life as a woman serving as a booth babe. It was wonderful to meet and chat with the people I already knew, but it was also wonderful to meet and chat with people I did not know explaining the technologies displayed in our booth. It makes the 725-mile roadtrip worthwhile.

During the long hours on the road I do a lot of thinking. As the New York radio stations fade away, I begin thinking about where I have been and where I am going on – especially where I am going in this adventure I have been living.

I love being able to live as a woman and I am so glad that I came out as I did to give me more opportunities to experience life as the woman I really am.

Wearing Celino (Source: Beyond the Rack)

Professional femulator Lee Leonard also know as Liz Lyons

Got Stuff

Got App Dept.

The online app that puts "Your Face on a Glamorous Magazine Cover In Seconds!" seems to be very popular with Femulate readers (and me). More of you have sent in your results, so I am posting a second set of your glamorous images today.

Got Voice Dept.

That Hamvention video that shows me for about 2-1/2 minutes had over 300 views from all over the world not long after I mentioned it here. Since the video was not publicized elsewhere until late in the day, I assume that most of that 300 were Femulate readers. (It has over 650 views 24 hours later.)

I girded my loins for criticism and as expected, I received some comments about my voice. 

Yes, I have a New York accent and sometimes my "these," "thems" and "those" come out as "deese," "dems" and "dose." [Actually, I have a South End of Waterbury accent, which is a distant cousin (80 miles) of a New York accent.]

And yes, my voice is deep for a woman. 

Years ago, I took a femme voice course and after three weeks of practice, I had a very feminine voice, but I always felt silly when I used that voice. It seemed so fake to me. Since I found that my normal male voice was not a deal breaker as far as passing was concerned that is what I decoded to use. 

I think that when people initially encounter me, they see a woman. If and when I speak, they just assume that I am a woman with a deep voice. 

After years of using my normal voice en femme, I assure you it usually does not give me away. As I recounted in last Wednesday post, a fellow came over to me after I spoke at the Hamvention forum and asked me how I am related to Stan Horzepa?

And so it goes.

Wearing Show Me Your Muu Muu (Source: Haute Look)

Abe Vagoda femulates in an episode of television's Barney Miller (circa 1978).

Aunt Transforms Nephew into Niece

UPDATE: Thanks to some knowledgeable readers, I now know that this video clip was too good to be true. The boy, who was supposedly transformed into a girl, is really a girl. No aunt transformed her nephew into her niece. By the way, the clip was taken from a Mexican television show called An Angel in the House (1998-1999).

ORIGINAL POST: A few weeks ago, I found this short video from a Spanish language television program. I wonder if anyone knows its source and what is the plot of this particular episode of the show.

YouTube suggests the source might be Mexico. The short description accompanying the video reads, "boy comes home dressed as a girl by her aunts. His father is frightening and terrified"

My take is that the boy's aunt took her nephew shopping for a female outfit. Looks like she even took him to a beauty parlor to get his hair done and his face made up.

The short clip shows the aunt and nephew returning home after shopping to reveal the boy's new look to his family. His mother and brother seem very pleased, but his father, not so much.

My Spanish is not good enough to interpret what is said in the video. Anybody have a clue?

Don't you wish you had an aunt like this lucky boy's/girl's aunt!

(Susan King's series on determining your face shape and what to do with it resumes tomorrow.)

Wearing DressBarn.

Aunt transforms nephew into niece in a Spanish language television show.