Actresses Portraying Transwomen

I have a pet peeve: actresses portraying transwomen.

Here are two portrayals that come to mind that are so unrealistic: Rebecca Romijn on Ugly Betty and Famke Jannsen on Nip/Tuck.

Both are television portrayals, but the film industry is just as guilty using actresses to portray trans-woman, for example, Raquel Welch in Myra Breckenridge and Felicity Huffman in Transamerica.

Male actors should portray transwoman. Such portrayals would be more realistic if men filled the T-girl roles. Few actresses are the right size to realistically portray a male-to-female transperson. Their voices are not convincing and in boy mode, their mannerisms are not convincing.



When male actors do portray transwoman, the portrayals are very realistic. Cillian Murphy in Breakfast on Pluto, Lee Pace in Soldier's Girl and Johnny Depp in Ed Wood are examples of successful portrayals of actors portraying transwomen.

Can you imagine someone like Drew Barrymore portraying Ed Wood? I think not.

Wearing Venus (Source: Venus)

Ed Wood femulating in the 1953 film 📺 Glen or Glenda.

feminizing menswear for real

This is Fashion Week in New York City.

Again, the catwalks are rife with menswear that borrows heavily on clothing from milady's closet.

Some designers are determined to feminize male fashions, so we see high-heeled male models wearing makeup and carrying their manbags down the runway with lace, ruffles, and bows accenting their pantalettes, kilts, and caftan outfits.

As a femulator and fashionista who loves female clothing and accoutrements, I feel that the designers responsible for feminizing menswear are not going far enough.

Stop pussyfooting around! If you want males wearing feminized clothing, go all the way.

Instead of separating menswear and womenswear, have both male and female models walking down the runways wearing next season's womenswear. Then you'd have something of interest to both fashion-conscious males and femulators.

As a femulator, I would not be caught dead in the current version of feminized menswear, but if they were showing womenswear for males, then I'd open my pocketbook to spend some money.

restoring our basic constitutional rights

In previous posts, I have advocated the inclusion of transgendered people in the EDNA legislation that is now stalled in the House of Representatives. The T members of GLBT need the same protection that this bill will afford the GLB members and they should not be thrown under the train to assure passage of this legislation.

Bush said he will veto this bill with or without T inclusion. And Congress lacks the votes to overturn his veto, so why are we wasting time debating this issue when there are more important issues to deal with, like restoring basic constitutional rights that Bush and his gang has stolen from us. These are rights that protect all Americans, not just GLBT Americans.

Senator Chris Dodd is fighting that battle for us, a battle that Senators Clinton and Obama are trying to dodge. Read his blog about what he is trying to do and read this blog to find out who your friends are.

I believe that our priorities should be to fight this battle first. Win back our constitutional rights and win the 2008 election. After we turn back the decider/dictator that resides at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, then we can fight the battle for GLBT rights (when it will be more likely to succeed ).

GUTLESS: Nancy Pelosi, George Miller, Barney Frank, & Tammy Baldwin

House cuts transgender people from hate crimes bill

Even as the Senate passed a hate crimes bill sought for a decade by gays and lesbians, House Democratic leaders decided Thursday to strip transgender people from another long-languishing civil rights bill, generating dismay in the gay community and furious but fruitless lobbying for more time.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco and Reps. George Miller, D-Martinez, Barney Frank, D-Mass., and Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., believe they lack the votes in the Democrat-controlled House to pass the Employment Non-Discrimination Act if it includes gender identity along with sexual orientation as a prohibited ground for firing an employee.

Oddly enough, the hate crimes bill that passed the Senate Thursday includes transgender people and won 60-39, the supermajority necessary to beat a Republican filibuster. All 49 Senate Democrats voted for it, along with two independents and nine Republicans.

Read the whole story here.

happy independence day

The Fourth of July is just a reference to a calendar date. No matter how much they try to brainwash us with "Fourth of July," remember it is really Independence Day, the day that the colonists thumbed their noses at the British and said we will do it our way, not your way.

Independence Day was the precursor of our Constitution and the Bill of Rights that some of our current leaders and fellow citizens are trying to curtail (and have curtailed to some degree) to better fit their idea of what this nation should be: a nation under their "Christian" god.

Well, their Christian god is not mine. Their god does not have compassion for anyone that does not follow what they consider to be society's "norms." There is no room for transpeople, as well as the other segments of GLBT in the nation under their Christian god.

Our forefathers separated from Britain to get away from people like these so-called Christians and it is time we reclaim the real meaning of Independence Day here before it is just a fond memory.

And remember, Jesus Christ was a liberal, not a neo-con.

daddy got new shoes

Payless is showing their fall lineup of shoes on their web site (check out "New Arrivals"). The description for one of their new women's shoe style was interesting:



If it's a "menswear pump," shouldn't it be listed with the men's shoes, not the women's shoes?

I will be anxious to see what the guys will be wearing with their new menswear pumps this fall. Perhaps, a menswear pencil skirt and menswear pantyhose and, of course, a menswear pocketbook.

I am not a drag queen

I am not a drag queen!

Yesterday, there was a "GLBT" pride celebration in Hartford. Today's Hartford Courant had no articles about the event, but the newspaper did publish one photo from the event, which it featured on the front page of the Connecticut section of the paper.

Guess what the photo showed?

Gay couples with their children in tow? No.

Appropriately attired transpeople taking in the event? No.

Over-the-top drag queens preparing to perform a number from Hairspray? YES!!!

You seldom see the media showing appropriately attired transpeople. That would be boring. The media prefers to show drag queens.

Some of my friends, relatives, and acquaintances know that I crossdress. They have never seen me crossdressed, but I am sure they have seen news reports about GLBT pride events and like the "report" in today's Hartford Courant, they almost always feature flamboyant drag queens. So, I have no doubt that some of my friends, relatives, and acquaintances think that when I crossdress, I dress like a drag queen, too, because that is all they know about crossdressing.

why I am sad

After outreach on Monday, I read the student's reactions to our presentation. Commenting on the student's reactions, I wrote here yesterday, "A number of people commented that they felt sad for me because of my lack of support at home regarding my transgenderism. A couple even wrote that I was sad…"

Soshanna commented, "Why are you sad, whenever I dress up, I am always very happy..."

Despite all my blog postings that usually talk about the upsides of going out en femme, going out en femme has its downsides.

My wife is not supportive. When she initially learned about my transness over 20 years ago, she was very supportive. She encouraged me to seek out a support group; she gave me female clothing and accessories for various occasions (Christmas, birthdays, etc.); she critiqued my makeup and wardrobe to improve my female presentation; she did not disapprove in the least.

Over the years, her support diminished and she barely tolerates my transness today. I don't know why she changed. When I broach the subject, she does not explain her change in attitude; she simply says that she does not want to see her husband dressed as a woman. She is ill and I don't want to upset her, so I do not crossdress as often as I would like to crossdress… not even close.

When I do outreach, marital issues always come up and I discuss those issues honestly. I guess that brings me down, thus my apparent sadness, and some of the students sympathize with my situation.

So, now you know.

bathrooms and bogus anger

Bob, bathrooms and bogus anger - Opinion

...And, yes, the gender-neutral restrooms provide a gender-safe haven for those among us born with a set of anatomy that doesn't match the gender they live as - whether that's something you accept or not.

No one in those stalls is bothering anyone, nor is the restrooms' existence costing us any money, save the price of a new door sign. The users of the "new" Kent State bathrooms are just looking for a little privacy, whatever their reasoning.

So tell me - why do Bob Dyer and his readers give a damn where we pee?

nightmare girls

My spouse and I watched Dream Girls last night. It was excruciating! I can't believe it was considered for the Academy Awards best picture! Jennifer Hudson was good and probably deserved the various awards she won for her role in the film, but I dunno for sure because half way through the film, I asked my spouse if she thought the film was as bad as I thought it was. She agreed and we stopped watching it.

The music was not my cup of tea. I wanted to hear a Motown-like sound. Instead, I heard a Broadway sound, not that there is anything wrong with that. I like show tunes as much as the next guy wearing a sequins dress, but the movie was supposed to be about Detroit music in the 1960s, not NYC. What a disappointment!

On the positive side, Beyoncé Knowles was gorgeous and the retro gowns that the Dream Girls wore in the film were to die for! I will probably fast-forward the second half of the film to catch any other Beyoncé and evening gown highlights.

Connecticut state senate passes anti-discrimination bill

According to Diana, the Connecticut state senate passed the gender anti-discrimination bill today. That is absolutely wonderful news!

Bad news is that the gutless little worm, who is my state senator voted against it. That does not surprise me. He is one of those Republicans, who is so proud of his party affiliation that when he ran for the senate last fall, his campaign literature did not indicate that he was a Republican.

actresses portraying trans-women

I have a pet peeve: actresses portraying trans-women.

Here are two recent portrayals that come to mind that are so unrealistic: Rebecca Romijn on Ugly Betty and Famke Jannsen on Nip/Tuck.



Both are television portrayals, but the film industry is just as guilty using actresses to portray trans-woman, for example, Raquel Welch in Myra Breckenridge and Felicity Huffman in Transamerica.

Male actors should portray trans-woman because such portrayals would be more realistic if men filled the T-girl roles. Few actresses are the right size to realistically portray a male T-person. Their voices are not convincing and in boy mode, their mannerisms are not convincing.



When male actors do portray trans-woman, the portrayals are very realistic. Cillian Murphy in Breakfast on Pluto, Lee Pace in Soldier's Girl, and Johnny Depp in Ed Wood are examples of successful portrayals of actors portraying trans-woman.

Can you imagine someone like Drew Barrymore portraying Ed Wood? I think not.