New pentagon transgender policy limits service members to birth gender

Trump's War on Transgenders Marches On

With all legal hurdles cleared, the pentagon has instituted a new transgender policy that largely limits the military service of transgender persons currently in uniform to their birth gender. If they are unwilling to do so, they could be discharged.

Transgender service members currently serving in the military will only be allowed to continue to serve if they adhere to the dress and grooming standards of their biological gender. Waivers will be allowed on a case-by-case basis but only from the secretaries in charge of the military services.

Read the rest of the story here at ABC News.

Men in Uniform

True to the Army is a 1942 American musical-comedy intended to build morale and entertain during the dark days of World War II. It stars Judy Canova, Allan Jones, Ann Miller, Jerry Colonna and William Demerest.

I never saw the film, but there are clips of the film on YouTube and having seen the clips, I'd like to see the entire film someday. Not because the film is of Oscar quality, but rather because the clips show men in the uniform of the opposite gender!

May I direct you to two clips from the film.

"Wacky for Khaki" is the name of the song sung by Judy Canova in this clip. The theme of the song is her love of military uniforms. The guys show up in military garb in short order, but the song opens with a group of soldiers femulating in the high fashion of the day.

More femulating troops appear in the background of another clip from the film, Judy Canova singing "I Can't Give You Anything But Love."

The quality of these clips is not too good, but you get the picture.

Anyway, I'd love to see these clips in the context of the entire film.

Wearing Bebe (Source: Bebe)

Allied prisoners of war femulating in a German prison camp during World War II.

War on Transgenders Marches On

Sadly, Trump's War on Transgenders continues...

Education Dept. Officially Says It Will Reject Transgender Student Bathroom Complaints

The Education Department says it won't investigate or take action on any complaints filed by transgender students who are banned from restrooms that match their gender identity, charting new ground in the Trump administration's year-long broadside against LGBT rights.

Read the rest of the story here.

Read the Los Angeles LGBT Center's excellent response to the Education Department here.

Trump Not Done Trying To Ban Transgender People from of Military

President Donald Trump‘s attempts to ban transgender people from the military have failed at every turn, but he isn’t done yet. The Trump administration will unveil and defend a new anti-trans policy on February 21.

Read the rest of the story here.

GOP Defines Being Transgender As 'A Disqualifying Psychological and Physical Condition'

The Republican National Committee voted to support Trump's August order that defines being transgender as “a disqualifying psychological and physical” condition.

Read the rest of the story here.

Transgender Rights Targeted by Multiple Ballot Measures Across the United States

Emboldened by Trump's War on Transgenders, discrimination is on the ballot in Massachusetts and Anchorage, Alaska, with signatures currently being collected for a third anti-transgender ballot measure in Montana.

Read the rest of the story here.

Wearing Rebecca de Ravenel (Source: Moda Operandi)

Kamil Bijos femulating on Your Face Sounds Familiar on Polish television.

Breaking News: Dupe Bans Trans from Military

On Wednesday, the Russian dupe in our White House tweeted that the United States will not “allow or accept” any transgender person to serve in the military.

The Liar-in-Chief claims that it consulted with “generals and military experts” on the sweeping policy. “Our military must be focused on decisive and overwhelming victory and cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender in the military would entail. Thank you,” it tweeted.

(Source: Fox News)

The Great Escape

I love movies. One of my favorites is The Great Escape, a 1963 film about Allied prisoners of war planning and executing an escape from a German POW camp during World War II. Whereas other POW films like The Bridge on the River Kwai and La Grande Illusion include scenes in which the POWs crossdress to entertain their fellow POWs, The Great Escape does not.

Turns out that a photo I posted here years ago (see above) actually shows POWs crossdressing at the very camp depicted in The Great Escape.

An e-mail from Ben van Drogenbroek, author of The Camera Became My Passport Home: Stalag Luft 3, the Great Escape, the Forced March and the Liberation at Moosburg : The Memoirs of Charles Boyd Woehrle, tells all:

Hello Stana,

Sorry to catch you from out of the blue. I was googling "prisoner of war" when I came across your website.

The photo with the caption "American prisoners of war femulate in a German prison camp during World War II." was actually taken at the South Compound of Stalag Luft 3.

Stalag Luft 3 was a German prisoner of war camp solely for Allied Air Force officers. Stalag Luft 3 became well-known for two famous escapes, "The Wooden Horse Escape" and "The Great Escape."

The name of the play slipped my mind, but I can look it up.

I must say; your website is well worth visiting; well done!

All the best from the other side of the ocean.

Ben van Drogenbroek

Here are two additional photos from the same POW camp.

World War I POWs femulating in the 1937 French film La Grande Illusion.

Uncle Sam Wants You... To Wear A Dress

Years ago, when I began collecting images of femulators, I was surprised to discover that there was lots of femulating in the military, both in the military of the USA and other nations.

The military femulations fell into three categories:

- Prisoners of war femulating to entertain their fellow prisoners

- Sailors femulating during crossing-the-Equator ceremonies

- Personnel attached to military theatrical productions who femulated to entertain the troops

Which reminds me of an episode of The Dick Van Dyke Show in which Rob Petrie (Van Dyke's character) recalls being attached to Special Services in the Army. During that stint, he was the Special Services boxing champion. To attain that status, one of the soldiers he boxed against was a female impersonator.

But none of those categories explains the snapshots I have of one of my relatives in an Army camp in the Hawaiian Island during World War II wearing a grass skirt and a bra top.

During a recent Internet interrogation, I found an enlightening article, "Cross-Dressing in Military Theater" by Stephan Likosky, which provides a history of military femulating. The article is the last one on this page - scroll down past three-quarters of the page to find it.

By the way, according to the article, "Today, drag performances are no longer permitted by the United State Armed Services."

 German prisoners of war performing in an American prisoner camp during World War II.

American and British sailors femulating during crossing-the-Equator parties.

A British military troupe who performed en femme during World War II.

 

 

Wearing DailyLook.

In the Navy

 

I found this 1918 reproduction of a print on eBay. Its description does not indicate its original source. I am guessing it is from a newspaper or magazine.

The upper caption reads, "This is no other than A. W. Peters, American jackie* impersonator, as he appears when working for Uncle Sam."

The lower caption reads, "But here he is gowned and powdered to amuse the boys when duty is less pressing than pleasure."

I was never in the military, so I am clueless about military life.

Were female impersonators common in the military?

Did the military encourage female impersonation to "to amuse the boys when duty is less pressing than pleasure?"

This is just one example of crossdressing in uniform. I have hundreds of others and I always wondered what the heck was going on!

* I looked up "jackie" and found only one definition (in the Urban Dictionary) that made sense. It refers to a "beautiful girl."

lay down your arms and put on a dress

I did not serve in the military, so I am not familiar with prisoner of war (POW) camps (except what I have seen in films) and I am clueless on the topic of crossdressing POWs.

Does the Geneva Convention require that every POW facility be stocked with the latest in female clothing, wigs, makeup, etc., to permit the prisoners to dress en femme?

I ask that question (with tongue in cheek) because I have been collecting trans-related images for years and my collection includes many images of POWs in drag putting on stage shows.

These "girls" are not wearing homemade outfits put together from scraps of material that they scrounged up in camp; rather they are dressed as fashionable women of the day would dress in outfits that came off the rack of women's clothier.

Did the POW camp commander ring up his favorite dress shop and order some frocks for the prisoners whenever they wanted to put on a show?

What's the real story?

Please enlighten me if you have any information on this subject.

Meanwhile, enjoy the sample of images (above and below) of POWs en femme. (As usual, click on an image to magnify it.)

Up top is a photo of five German soldiers at an unknown location during an unknown war, but my guess is World War II.

Below we find a group of German soldiers incarcerated at Camp Carson, Colorado, in 1945.

Far below, is another group of POWs of unknown nationality at an unknown location during an unknown was, but my guess is British soldiers during World War I.