Rain or Shine

May 2003, Dayton, Ohio

A few years ago, there was a study by the state of Connecticut to determine the average rainfall in various locations throughout the state. Turned out that my neighborhood has the highest average rainfall in the state.

My neighborhood is also located on one of the highest points in the county. As a result, spring comes late in my neck of the woods and there are still piles of snow hither and yon.

The last snow disappeared from my yard last week, so at the crack of dawn yesterday, I swapped snow shovels for rakes and began dealing with the mess Mama Nature left for me over the winter.

I tried to do too much and ran out of gas by mid-afternoon. So I relaxed the rest of the day and never touched a keyboard. As a result, I am composing Monday morning's blog post on Monday morning!

Wanda Weather is predicting rain for most of the week, which is kind of disappointing. Thursday, I am doing outreach at Southern Connecticut State University and before outreach, I was planning on stopping at Hubbard Park in Meriden, Connecticut, for a selfie photoshoot among the daffodils. (Hubbard Park is the site of Meriden's annual daffodil festival.) But if it is raining, I'll probably go shopping instead.

And as I mentioned here on Friday, Saturday I will be at the UConn Health Center for Transgender Lives: The Intersection of Health and Law Conference. So this girl has a busy week ahead of her, rain or shine.

Wearing T. Tahari.

Lou Diamond Phillips in the 2003 film Hollywood Homocide.

Nicole's Favorite Photos (of Nicole!)

I have followed your blog for a long time and have now summoned up the courage to send you a couple of pictures. 

I have been cd/trangender for ever it seems. Married to a very understanding wife and at 72, still trying. I am in the UK, but lived for many years in Canada and have attended Esprit in Port Angeles. 

The first pic was a few months ago going at a local group of Ladies "Lynx Ladies." 

Best Wishes,

Nicole


XXX

My open invitation to post your favorite photo along with the story behind it and the reason it is your favorite photo still stands, so don't be shy, send me your fave foto. ― Stana

Wearing Lulu.

Monika Catherine

Rhonda's Favorite Photo (of Rhonda!)

Hi Hon,

You have been an inspiration. Back in 2013 you posted a picture of a girl wearing this dress. I had to get it and wore it to my first Sin City Soiree, which is a week-long transgirl meeting that occurs every May in Las Vegas.

Thanks for inspiring. You rock!

Rhonda

My open invitation to post your favorite photo along with the story behind it and the reason it is your favorite photo still stands, so don't be shy, send me your fave foto. ― Stana

Wearing Light in the Box.

Terry Sweeney as Nancy Reagan on Saturday Night Live in 1985.

Transgender Lives Conference Next Saturday

The 9th annual Transgender Lives: The Intersection of Health and Law Conference is next Saturday, April 25 at the UConn Health Center in Farmington, Connecticut. Running from 8 AM to 5 PM, Fantasia Fair Friend Dallas Denny is the keynote speaker at 3;30 PM and yours truly will be co-presenting "Crossdressing in the Real World" with Jan Brown at 10:45 AM (the full schedule is here).

UCONN Health Center is exactly half way between Boston and New York City and is just off I-84 Exit 39.

I hope to see you there!

Wearing Eight Six

A dragkepnni celebration in Iceland, 2013

Throwback Thursday: His Hanes

Back in 1998, this pin-up girl artwork by Gil Elvgren inspired me to modify it in a femulating way and post it in my old blog nFem. I gave the girl a boy's haircut, modified her bra so that her bust appeared to be more boy-like and added the caption to parody the classic tagline from the Hanes' ads of the 1970s and 1980s.

The parody took on a life of its own and appeared on the Internet in places where girls like us hang out.

Also, my parody (or Elvgren's original) may have inspired a photographic version, which I found on Pinterest.

Always trying to improve things, I took another stab at the parody in 2004. I changed the femulator's haircut, thickened her eyebrows, inserted falsies, added the package of Hanes hosiery and the blurb below the tagline.

Always trying to improve things, I may revisit the parody in the near future.

10 Million and Counting

Earlier this week, the hit counter for this blog passed the 10 million mark! I thank you all for making that possible.

On a typical day, Femulate gets about 5,000 hits, but as I write this midday on Wednesday, the blog has gotten over 36,000 hits so far! That's about a week's worth of hits in half a day! What is going on?

Wearing Sally LaPointe (coat), J.W. Anderson (skirt) and Vince (blouse)

Walton Goggins in television's Sons of Anarchy.

Amazed and Jealous

Stana in 1976

I am always amazed (and jealous) to see all the young women posting their photos and stories at Reddit's Crossdressing.

"Amazed" because there are so many girls coming out and they all look amazing. "Jealous" because there were no resources like it when I was coming out as a young woman. (Girlfriends helping boyfriends with their makeup just blows my mind. Back when I was young, if I asked a girlfriend to help me with my makeup, she would have dumped me posthaste.)

I came out very slowly... so slowly that I am still coming out. Coming out, I was discouraged from every direction... not in so many words, but rather by society's general attitude toward girls like us.

My peers were treated like freaks and bozos and that discouraged me from getting on board the bus. It was easier to deny my true self and live a lie pretending to be a "man." Despite my denials, my femininity was so imbedded in me that I did not fit in well with other men because of my girlish characteristics and mannerisms.

Being a man was a bad fit, which became obvious to me as my occasional crossdressing fit so well and I finally accepted the fact that I was a woman all along.

If Reddit's Crossdressing or just the Internet existed when I was young, it probably would have accelerated all that, but it did not exist, so I did the best that I could.

Wearing Nicole Miller.

Patrick Swayze power-suited in the 1995 film To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar.

Power Suit

Yesterday, I wrote about the power of wearing a short skirt and high heels. In addition to wielding the power in a home improvement store, I discovered that combination works in other places, too.

When I spent a long weekend in Manhattan, a short hemline and heels sure came in handy when hailing a taxi cab. I never failed to nab the first cab I hailed when I was wearing my "power suit."

My power suit is not necessarily a jacket and matching pencil skirt. My power suit consists of a skirt or dress with a hem at or above the knee and high heel pumps with a three-inch or higher heel.

My power suit is more than adequate to gain the upper hand over the male sex. Dressed so, I can wrap a male around my little finger. Even males who are aware of my birth gender have fallen under my power.

It is so easy! I don't even have to think about unleashing the power because males usually succumb to it automatically.

Women are the stronger sex, but we play along that we are the fairer sex because along with our uniforms, it is part of our strategy to have our way with the real weaker sex.

Wearing Ann Taylor.

Actor Steven Weber in television's The Comedians (2015)

(Thank you, Zoe)

Shopping for Hardware in Software

My shopping for hardware wear!

A number of girls wondered about the dress Christina Marie wore in her Favorite Photos post last week.

I wondered too, so I asked her and she revealed that she bought it at JCPenney “a few years back.  Just couldn’t resist buying it after trying it on.”

Here is a link to the dress, but bad news girls, it is sold out.

Christina Marie added, “So much easier to shop for things when in girl mode, huh?”

Yes, indeed!

You have your shapewear strategically in place, so you know how the item will fit when you try it on and you are in makeup and wearing a do, so you know how the item will look on madam.

Yes, shopping in girl mode is so much easier… even if you are not shopping for girly things!

Which reminds me of the time I visited a Lowe's home improvement store in girl mode to get a replacement part for a piece of plumbing that failed. I had no trepidation about going to Lowe's and I found my trip very revealing.

Whenever I go to Lowe's or Home Depot in boy mode, I have to find and ask a store employee when I need help. In girl mode, I had a male Lowe's employee practically at my beck and call without asking. 

When he saw me looking lost in the plumbing department, he asked what I needed and directed me to the exact location where the part was displayed. After I found what I needed, he came over and compared it to the old part I had brought along to make sure I got the right part.

That's the power of a short skirt and high heels!

Wearing Halston Heritage.

Actor Robert Sella in television's In Plain Sight (2012).

Sonia’s Favorite Photos (of Sonia!)

Dear Stana,

Your blog is such an amazing resource and I've been a follower for a long long time.

Your open invitation to send in a favorite photo with its story was much too tempting to pass up. I've been a crossdresser for as long as I can remember, but given my circumstances, I'd also have been in the closet for an equally long time. Neither did I have the makeup skills nor the opportunity to venture out into the world and test the waters. Perhaps I also wasn't ready and fully accepting of myself to muster up the courage to say, "This is me and I'm proud of it".

That changed in 2013. I'd come out to a friend many years ago, yet neither he nor I had ever discussed the topic. He is a makeup artist and also happens to be gay, although we all know that doesn't necessarily equal acceptance.

Come end-August 2013, we were chatting and in passing he mentioned in passing that he was going to a gay party. Taking a chance, I asked if I could tag along and not stopping there I asked if I could come dressed. We discussed it for a while and agreed that it would a terrific idea. Then began the excitement, of course, of putting together an outfit, accessories, and colors, all of which was immensely satisfying.

When the day arrived, I was very nervous and also very excited. Venturing into the unknown is what this was and something about that was thrilling. Needless to say the party was great and no one cared two hoots and I even got Ma'am'd a couple of times. Given that it was at night, I had the advantage of dim lighting to give me added comfort.

That was the day Sonia was truly born, one that I will never forget. Sadly, the only picture I have (the photo on top) isn't the clearest, but the smile on my face says it all, I think.

Sonia also celebrated her birthday a couple of weeks later, for the first time en femme (the photo below). Both events hold so much significance to me that I couldn't pick just one.

Hugs,

Sonia

My open invitation to post your favorite photo along with the story behind it and the reason it is your favorite photo still stands, so don't be shy, send me your fave foto. ― Stana

 

 

 

Wearing Nina Ricci.

 

 

 

Cecil Beaton

Eve’s Favorite Photos (of Eve!)

Stana!

Here are three photos of me at First Event in January in Boston. I wore the blue gown in the fashion show, definitely a "non-civilian" affair! The other pix are me in other outfits for different evenings at First Event.

I think the blue gown picture will always remind me of how happy, relaxed and confident I felt that night on the runway. Everyone there had a wonderful experience and were so supportive. It was my second time modeling and I can't wait to do it again. Roll away your insecurities and WORK IT, Girls! You can do it!

My open invitation to post your favorite photo along with the story behind it and the reason it is your favorite photo still stands, so don't be shy, send me your fave foto. ― Stana

 

 

 

Wearing Lulu.

 

 

 

Womanless beauty pageant contestant.