Got T-Dar?

Do you have T-Dar? I do and if you are reading this blog, you probably have T-Dar, too.

T-Dar, short for trans-radar, is the ability to detect a trans-person when they are presenting in their non-birth gender. For example, you see a tall woman walking through the mall. Suddenly, your T-Dar kicks in and you begin looking for clues that the woman is actually a natal male presenting as a female.

No matter how good you think your T-Dar may be, you seldom have an opportunity to determine whether your T-Dar is working correctly.

You can confront a suspected trans-person, but that can be disastrous, especially if you are wrong. Recently, I read about a transwoman who encountered two tall women while shopping. Her T-Dar told her that the two women were trans and she confronted them by introducing herself as trans and saying something to the effect, "You're trans, too, aren't you?"

The two women reacted as if the trans-woman had just gotten off a spaceship from Uranus. They had no idea what she was talking about and when it became apparent to the transwoman that she had erred, she wished that she was on Uranus.

And even if your T-Dar is correct confronting a suspected trans-person can be a sensitive matter.

One time when I was attending First Event, I arrived at the hotel in boy mode and took the elevator to the floor where I could register for the event. The elevator stopped before reaching my destination and a transwoman got on. I was 101% positive that she was trans and without thinking, I asked her if she was enjoying First Event.

She was taken aback by my query and seemed very uncomfortable. I immediately realized the error of my ways and explained to her that I was trans, but having just arrived at the hotel, had not changed into girl mode yet. She seemed a little relieved, but I learned a lesson and would never do that again.

So it is probably best to use your T-Dar in a solitary manner. Keep your T-Dar findings to yourself unless, of course, you write a trans-blog, then you can publicize your T-Dar results. (“Yesterday, I saw a trans-woman in ladies' shoes at Macy’s.”)

I believe that most trans-people have T-Dar. It almost comes naturally because trans-people look for affirmation that there are other trans-people out there. What better way to affirm that then to actually see another trans-person in person? Seeking that affirmation, trans-people check out potential suspects wherever they go (at least, I do).

Even when my T-Dar determines that the six-foot woman walking through the mall is, in fact, a genetic female, it provides a different kind of affirmation. It affirms that there are genuine tall women out there and as a six-foot-plus transwoman, it gives me encouragement to go out en femme and join the other tall women out there because I am not alone.

(Danger, Danger, Will Robinson! This post is a rerun!)

Wearing Bebe

Enrico Lo Verso femulating in the 1997 Italian film As You Want Me (Come Mi Vuoi). See the trailer here.

Have You Seen Your Brother, Baby, Standing in High Heels?

Commenting on the "Moaning Lisa Smile" post, Beverly wrote,

I'm not sure, but I think the first use of a trans person in a music video was The B-52's "Love Shack." My trans-radar always went off when I saw that video. Then I found out the video was the debut of the tall woman of color with the huge hair. A local Georgia girl named Ru Paul who was a friend of the band.

"Love Shack" was a hit in 1989 and I recall seeing the video, but I missed Ru Paul.

Back then, I watched music videos on MTV and recall a number of trans moments, but I don't know if they involved actual trans people. For example, in ZZ Top's 1984 video for "Legs," there is a young guy in a boutique dress-shopping. Who knows if the actor playing the guy was actually trans ― probably not.

Then there's David Bowie's music video for his 1979 hit "Boys Keep Swinging" in which he appears in three drag personas. David claimed he was bisexual, but never trans, although he appeared in female clothing quite often, especially early in his career.

Before there were "music videos," as popularized by MTV, there were promotional films made to stimulate the sale of singles. For example, The Beatles made a bunch of these and they would be shown on The Ed Sullivan Show in lieu of live appearances by the Fab Four.

The Rolling Stones made a promo film for their 1966 single "Have You Seen Your Mother, Baby, Standing in the Shadow?" If you recall, the front side of the picture sleeve of the 45 RPM recording of that song had the boys standing around in a group, while the back side of the picture sleeve had the boys standing around dressed as girls.

The promo film for "Have You Seen Your Mother, Baby, Standing in the Shadow?" shows the band performing the song interspersed with clips of the boys getting dressed en femme for the picture sleeve photoshoot. Needless to say, that version of the promo did not get much airplay anywhere in 1966.

Wearing Etienne Aigner.

David Bowie in the Boys Keep Swinging music video (1979).

Moaning Lisa Smile

I watched the Grammy Awards Monday night primarily to see Eagles perform live one more time. Sans Glenn Frey, Jackson Browne sang lead on “Take It Easy.” That was the highlight of the show for me, although I also enjoyed the Lionel Richie tribute.

I was not familiar with 95% of the rest of the music, so the rest of the show was not of much interest and I headed for bed with an hour of awards left to go. However, just before I shut off the TV, my trans-radar went off when there was a snippet from a music video by Wolf Alice for their song titled “Moaning Lisa Smile.”

I viewed the video on YouTube and the three make members of the band appear en femme throughout the video. See the screen captures of the video above and below or see the video for yourself here.

Wearing Saint Laurent.

Wolf Alice femulates in their music video for "Moaning Lisa Smiles."