Sporadic

At Hamvention, May 2014

My Internet presence will be sporadic from now until Monday as I will be traveling to and from Dayton, Ohio, to attend the annual ham radio convention, Hamvention.

I will try to post when I can, but my dance card is usually so full during Hamvention that I have very little time to get on the net. And in case you missed it, I am receiving an award at Hamvention this year, so my normally full dance card may be even fuller!

And I am cutting this post short because I have to work on my acceptance speech.

And so it goes.

Wearing Free People.

Hari Nef on Internet television's Transparent (2016).

Tricia’s First Time and Beyond

My earliest memories of crossdressing are circa primary school days.

There was a trunk full of women's clothes in the garage of our home and I remember enjoying getting the dresses out and putting them on. My Mother also had an old one-piece swimsuit she kept in our laundry and when she was not home, I'd go in there and try it on. I think I can also recall donning the swimsuit and a wig for a "dress up session" with one of my male cousins who dressed as a beatnik, all this in front of some relatives. Yes, it was that long ago! Worse still!!! ...about that time I found an encyclopedia article on women's period dress quite fascinating, so I guess my love of wearing women's clothes stems from that time.

I can also clearly recall how beautiful my Mum looked when she and my father were attending a formal ball and I guess I wanted to look like her: all beautifully coiffed, perfumed, made up and dressed in a long evening gown. Perhaps that's where my ongoing love of formal wear came from too!

Moving to my early teens, my parents had a holiday cottage where, though it would never be allowed these days, I refused to go for winter weekends as there was "nothing to do." So this gave me the chance to be on my own and dress in all my mother's finery. Tennis balls had to make do for breasts in one of her bras, but that was OK. I especially enjoyed the tightness of her panty girdles and feeling the tautness of the suspenders attached to her stockings.

This went on for some time until, inevitably, some relatives called in to check on me one night and I was well and truly "sprung." Being a typical "father of the age," i.e. the 60's, my father's "severe talking to" about this "hobby" of mine centered on the retribution I would face when I got older if the "boys in the pub" found out about my penchant for things feminine!

A Lady Bracknell femulation in a North Carolina private school production of The Importance of Being Earnest.

I attended a trade-oriented, all-male high school where drama and plays were hardly given a mention. So it can only be imagined how jealous I was when I read a newspaper article about how in the best tradition of all-male private schools of the era, boys were selected to play the female roles in the school's annual production. Males playing Lady Bracknell in the Importance of Being Earnest have had me green with envy ever since!

Onwards into my 20's and once married "this will all fade away." But of course, it did not and the need to be Tricia caused much tension in the marriage and eventually was one of the main reasons for the divorce. Siring two girls did not help because when they matured, there were even more "frillies" about the house!

My career involved a lot of interstate and overseas travel so that's when Tricia would appear, mostly in a hotel room somewhere. Though she did venture out occasionally in such places far from home as London and Toronto and a couple of crossdresser group meetings in Perth, Australia, she's been retired for quite some time now and the location of where she lives and the circumstances of that location, plus her current relationship allows Tricia reasonably frequent occasions to "emerge." Period and evening gowns are still favorites, as is classy cocktail wear and lingerie.

Tricia would love to go out in public more often, but not in the small rural community where she resides. The gossip mill would go into meltdown if she was "sprung" and whilst she may be able to withstand all of the above, the burden on her beloved partner would be most unfair!

Furthermore, Tricia knows that one day, hopefully quite some time away, "advancing years' will decree a move to a retirement village back to the City. How this will affect not only her but her clothes, makeup, jewelry ,etc. wearing and storage remains to be seen.

Happy dressing everyone,

Tricia

I invite all Femulate readers to share their first crossdressing experience. Try to recall that moment the first time you tried on a woman’s garment and began the process of unveiling and exploring your feminine self. To entice you to share your first time story, I will give away a free copy of my e-book Fantasia Fair Diaries to all whose stories I use in Femulate.

Jerzy Grzechnik femulating Adele on Polish television's Twoja Twarz Brzmi Znajomo.

Four T's For Tea

Wearing Vince.

Red Skelton in the 1939 film Seeing Red.

Eavesdropping

I work with engineers. Cubicles populated by hardware and software engineers surround my cubicle. Due to their proximity, eavesdropping is unavoidable, but not very interesting because most of the time they talk about work and their current projects.

When their discussions stray from work-related issues, they seem to be an apolitical bunch. There is one fellow who is fascinated by Trump, but most of the crew keep their political views close to the vest and talk about other non-work matters.

But out of the blue Thursday morning, three engineers have a discussion about how the country is divided... yadda, yadda, yadda... Someone brings up the transgender bathroom issue and I am all ears.

One engineer said, "I don't understand what the big deal is about if a transgender woman is dressed like a woman and uses the women's restroom or if a transgender man is dressed like a man and uses the men's restroom. Who cares?"

End of discussion.

Hurray for our team!

Wearing Polo.

Ted Brightwell on stage in La Cage Aux Folles.

Carollyn's Other Times

This is part 2 of "Carollyn's First Time," which I posted here on Monday.

Skipping to October 2004...

My real life as Carollyn started on the 17th of October. My wife and family went to Disneyland while I had to stay at home. For six days, it was feminine bliss. By that time, I settled on my name, my overall look and style.

That week, other than work, I lived as a woman. It was wonderful. I went to movies, dinner, shopping, the casino and did many other "girlish" things. I was never harassed and was always accepted as a woman.

I had been using my wife's short wig, as my second-hand wig was "big hair" and I wanted a change. I visited a nearby salon where I had purchased my first wig. The ladies at the store were so helpful, especially Linda. She took my "big hair" and trimmed it into something more stylish.

I had first gone to the shop in male persona, but the girls insisted I come back dressed when I picked up the new hair. Unfortunately, the day we set for my return, my wife had to cancel her plans, so I would not have an opportunity to dress. I phoned the ladies at the shop and told them of my dilemma and they insisted that I dress there. So I did, and spent four hours with the ladies in my new hair while learning etiquette from one of the ladies who was a former model. I felt I was all set until a few months later.

The following May, I had the luxury of making a trip to I Love It Girl (ILIG) in Fremont, California. ILIG was a TG paradise with tons of clothes, wigs, shoes, etc., and a lovely and helpful owner in JoAnn. I was on a business trip to the San Francisco Bay Area and decided to visit on a non-social night. (ILIG has Wednesday night socials every week).

When I arrived, JoAnn was busy, but greeted me with open arms. I was dressed in a red skirt outfit and matching heels and she gave me so many compliments while she worked with another client. After a short time, she sat me down and chatted about dressing and then without asking my size, pulled out a number of different dresses for me to wear for pictures. For what seemed to be hours, I played dress-up with her help and we took numerous pictures.

Close to midnight, I drove back to my motel dressed, but with a new hair style and a new attitude... and total confidence. I was a woman. I even went to dinner the following evening to a fancy hotel restaurant as Carollyn.

During the next few months in 2005, I met a friend, Linda Holmes, who moved to my area from Maine. We got together numerous times to dress and go out on the town during the day for lunch, shopping and lots of pictures. Linda was about two years into her transition. She was a sweetheart and the co-founder of Mature Women Group.

My salon friend, Linda, recommended I change my hair style to what it is today. She told me that my current style makes me look 10 to 15 years younger.

In November 2005, I received the first "shock" of my life. I had been a member of URNotAlone and VickiRene.net, but my good friend, Lauren Phillips, nominated me for the prestigious Vanity Club. I applied with some hesitation concerned that I would not be accepted, but I received enough votes to become a member.

My second "shock" occurred in March 2006 when KC Tyler selected me to be a member of KC's Top 10. KC's was the first TG site I found on the Internet. I never thought that I would become a friend and a member of her equally prestigious site.

Now, we must jump to Christmas and New Year’s...

I decided to be daring! I had never worn a formal dress except at ILIG, so I paid a visit to my local JC Penney's and "borrowed" a red chiffon formal and a black party dress. My desire was to take pictures and send e-mail Christmas cards to my friends. So, in male persona, I made the purchases and one evening prior to Christmas, I dressed in a long red strapless formal and took my pictures. A few days before New Year’s, I wore a black strapless party dress. Both dresses were so great to wear and I felt so good being dressed "to the nines."

A week after New Year’s, I was back in the Bay Area and another trip to ILIG. I took the black dress with me and JoAnn flipped when she saw the new "complete" product. After a little touchup of my makeup and a few accessories, we took tons of pictures. I stayed for four hours and wore a couple of other dresses JoAnn had selected. Had I had the time, I would have stayed into the night. I drove home dressed and stopped at JC Penney's to return the black dress, as I had no place to wear it again. Sigh!!!

Life as Carollyn has been fabulous. I love dressing as often as possible and enjoying life as a lady. When I dress, I want to create an illusion of a classy, perky and joyful conservative woman. When out, I want to honor women and blend in with others without drawing attention to myself.

I strongly want to help other girls and that was one of the reason the now-deceased Linda and I formed the Mature Women Group ten years ago. I don't consider myself an expert and blush when others consider me an icon in the community. All I want to do is assist other girls and walk hand-in-hand with them on the same, wonderful journey I'm taking.

Wearing Bebe.

Logan Kesler at the 2011 Theatre Under The Stars' Tommy Tune Awards

Transcation

Next week, I will be on a transcation, that is, presenting as a woman while I travel 726 miles to Dayton, Ohio, to attend a ham radio convention. Unlike the girls above, my transcation will be solo, but I expect to see a lot of friends and acquaintances, who I have not seen since last year's convention. So, although I will be solo en femme, I will not be alone.

This will be my seventh transcation to this convention, so you would think it would be "old hat" by now. In many ways, it will be familiar, but this year, there will be one big difference and I am a little nervous about it.

During my six previous Ohio transcations, I was invisible to most people... just an old lady in her Subaru driving too slow in the passing lane. Although I am a well-known writer in the ham radio world, my fellow hams know that writer as a male. As a result, very few people saw my name badge being worn by a female and put two-and-two together.

For example, I will never forget walking up to a friend I had known for over 30 years, saying, "Hi, Tom" with him replying, "Do I know you?" If I could fly as a woman under the radar of friends and acquaintances, I am sure I flew under everybody else's radar, too.

This year, I am receiving an award at the convention. This fact has been publicized in all the ham radio media. The convention's web site displays my feminine visage next to the award announcement. Over 20,000 printed programs will be handed out at the convention containing the same photo and announcement, so all those people who were clueless in the past will now be clued-in.

Whereas in the past, maybe a couple of hundred people were clued-in, this year 20,000 to 25,000 will be in the know and that is a little scary. So wish me well.

Wearing Alexis.

Jack Haley (right) in the 1945 film George White's Scandals.

End of the Tunnel

Can you see the light at the end of the tunnel?

The Philippines is set to elect its first out transgender person to public office in a breakthrough for the predominantly Catholic country's LGBT community.

Geraldine Roman, who has been living as a woman for more than two decades, is set to win the congressional seat in Bataan previously held by her mother, Herminia Roman.

With 97.2 per cent of national election returns processed, Ms Roman had secured a win with 23,814 votes over her opponent's 10,325.

Meanwhile...

What we must not do, what we must never do, is turn on our neighbors, our family members, our fellow Americans for something that they cannot control and deny what makes them human. And this is why none of us can stand by when a state enters the business of legislating identity and insists that a person pretend to be something or someone that they are not. But no matter how isolated, no matter how afraid, and no matter how alone you may feel today, know this, that the Department of Justice and indeed the entire Obama administration want you to know that we see you, we stand with you, and we will do everything we can to protect you going forward. ― Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch's remarks at the May 9 press conference announcing the complaint against the State of North Carolina to stop discrimination against transgender individuals.  

I have high hopes that the ride through the dark tunnel will end soon and transgender people will be freed from those who try to suppress us.

Wearing Avon.

Lori Shannon on a 1975 episode of  television'  All in the Family.

Tuesday's Two Lines or Less

Tired of all the bad news lately, here is some good news about a transgender teen in Indiana who was named runner-up prom queen. (Thank you, Tammy for the link.)

∞ ∞ ∞

Saturday's post "Saturday Night Lives" was my attempt at fiction. Some folks thought it was a true story, although I labeled the post as "fiction."

∞ ∞ ∞

Thanks to Reva, here is a follow-up story about last Wednesday's Femulator, Trevor Ladner. It seems that Trevor is a drag artist and her "femulating skills" won her a scholarship to Tulane and helped educate people about gender roles!

∞ ∞ ∞

Femulate contributor Monica P. Mulholland has written a Kindle book, ME!: The gift of being Transgender. All proceeds go to the LGBT suicide line, Lifeline NZ.

∞ ∞ ∞ 

In preparation for next week's trip to Hamvention in Dayton, I stopped at CVS to buy a bottle of Veet and three packages of Kiss stick-on nails. CVS has a sale on their nails this week: buy two sets and get the third set free.

∞ ∞ ∞

While on the subject of travel, Travel + Leisure has a timely article "Tips for Transgender Travelers— From the Country’s Most Trans-Friendly Destination."

∞ ∞ ∞

Here is an oldie, but a goodie: Antartic explorer Robert Falcon Scott had a brother name Malcolm, who was a famous professional femulator back in Victorian England. Here is the story, thanks to Catherine.

∞ ∞ ∞

I just realized that it will be winter when the Summer Olympics are held in Rio de Janeiro!

∞ ∞ ∞

Finally, a big thank you to Linda, for all she has done for me recently!

Wearing Ronny Kobo top and skirt and Mercedes Salazar earrings.

Danny La Rue in the 1971 British film Our Miss Fred.

Carollyn's First Time

My life as Carollyn Olson has been quite a satisfying ride.

Over the last three decades, Carollyn has figuratively flourished and matured, and developed so many great friends. I would not change a thing.

My story is a little different than many of yours. I did not start dressing until 35 years ago and it was very accidental. To make a long story short, I can blame it on the cat.

I was home working on my spouse’s dresser when she was out of town. Our cat decided to jump into a drawer and damaged two pair of nylons. I was going to show them to my spouse and let her throw them away, but for some reason I put them on. Before I knew it, I was dressed in her clothes, wig and shoes. Oh, what a feeling!

By the next weekend, when she was once again away from home, I had bought heels, two dresses, pantyhose, and had studied how my spouse applied her makeup. I completely dressed and went out for the first time. The first time I really looked in the mirror, I could not believe how good I looked.

Where did I go? I drove to the local mall, walked around a bit, went in to a couple of shops, had a bite to eat and sat on a bench to watch other women walk through the mall so I could study their mannerisms and how they walked and talked. Was I nervous? Yes, a bit, but not overly. I was “passing” and enjoying myself. When I look back at that first time today, I still wonder how I did it.

Since then, I try to dress two or three times a month. However, I have had to be careful with my dressing (my wife is unware of my hobby even though she has dressed me twice for Halloween parties).

I invite all Femulate readers to share their first crossdressing experience. Try to recall that moment the first time you tried on a woman’s garment and began the process of unveiling and exploring your feminine self. To entice you to share your first time story, I will give away a free copy of my e-book Fantasia Fair Diaries to all whose stories I use in Femulate.

Wearing Polo.

Harvey Korman (center) on television's The Carol Burnett Show (circa 1972).

Both Mother and Father

A single Dad celebrates Mother's Day.

Wearing Madeleine.

Diego Ramos and Nico Scarpino on the Buenos Aires stage in Casa Valentina (2016).