Bad Hair Day Continued

As I wrote in my last two posts, I went out Sunday evening to attend a surprise birthday party of one of my long-time trans girlfriends.

The party started slowly guest-wise, so initially I made small talk with the handful of people who showed up early like I did and in the process, made fast friends with a lesbian couple. When some of my trans friends finally arrived, I hung out with them and caught up on things since the last time we had met.

Everyone noticed my new hairdo and said they liked it. But one long time friend said it made me look like an old lady, which confirmed my assessment.

I am old enough and don't want to highlight my age, so I was a little upset with myself for not listening to my inner fashionista and rejecting the gray wig as my crowning glory.

When I got back home to my boudoir, I replaced the long gray wig with one of my short blonde wigs and immediately shed 10 to 15 years. So I will not wear the gray wig again until the day I am so old that the gray wig makes me look younger!

Wearing Boston Proper.

Joshua Hart crossplays/femulates Alice.

Bad Hair Day

As I wrote in my short post on Monday, I went out Sunday evening to attend a surprise birthday party for one of my long-time trans girlfriends. The party started at 4 PM, which meant I spent the better part of Sunday afternoon getting femmed up for the event.

I took my time doing my makeup and as a result, it took an hour rather than the normal 30 to 45 minutes. Then I dressed, switching outfits a few times while trying to decide what to wear out the door. I finally settled on a recent acquisition from Avon, a little black dress with laser cutouts along the hemline (that's the dress, not me in the photo above). I accessorized with vintage earrings and necklace and a long black and white scarf from Avon. Nude Payless pumps and matching nude Avon bag completed the ensemble.

Some time ago, I bought a wig from Envy that I had never worn. I purchased it because I was very happy with another Envy wig I had bought and more importantly, it was available in a large size, which is a rarity in the wig world. For some reason that escapes me now, I bought the wig in light gray/platinum.

When the wig arrived, I tried it on without makeup and I thought it looked awful, but that is often the case when I try a wig on without makeup, so I put it away for a future outing. The future had arrived and I wore it on Sunday. It looked much better with makeup, but I thought it made me look old. That should have alerted me, but I made up my mind to wear it and that I did.

I arrived at the party early because it was a surprise party, so I assumed all the guests should be in place to surprise the birthday girl when she arrived. Turns out that the birthday girl knew about the party and was already in the building when I arrived.

C'est la vie.

Wearing Eloquii.

Enrico Lo Verso femulates in the 1997 Italian film As You Want Me.

Sunday evening outing

Sunday was an evening out for this girl as I attended a surprise birthday party for Audrey, one of my long-time trans girlfriends. The venue was Real Art Ways, a non-profit art space in Hartford, where I have attended their monthly "creative cocktail party" on numerous occasions.

Wearing Dress Barn.

Artur Chamski femulates on Polish television's Twoja Twarz Brzmi Znajomo.

Saturday-Sunday Short-Shorts

I canceled my Fantasia Fair trip because I can't leave my blind dog with my MS'd wife for a week.

I thought by now that my dog might be better acclimated to her blindness (she lost her eyesight July 4th weekend). She has improved, but not enough so that she would no longer be a burden. So I pulled the plug and will miss the Fair again this year.

∞ ∞ ∞

On the other hand, I have an opportunity for a girl's evening out this Sunday!

∞ ∞ ∞

A few days ago, I ran into one of my best friends from high school. We went to different colleges and our separate ways after high school, so we had a lot of catching up to do. It was great to see him again and it brought to mind the last time I saw him.

It was over 20 years ago. My wife and I were shopping in a department store and as we queued up to check out, I noticed my friend in the next queue. He was with his wife who was standing in line behind him watching as he placed his purchases on the counter and waited for the cashier to ring him up.

His purchases were a half-dozen women's dresses and he looked sheepish making the purchase (been there, done that). I did not say a word to acknowledge my presence because I did not want to embarrass him in case the dresses were for him.

How do you broach the subject with someone you suspect is one of us?

If I encountered him while I was out en femme, I would not think twice about saying hello. That sure would be an ice breaker!

Wearing ELOQUII.

Marcin Rogacewicz femulates Debbie Harry on
Polish television's Twoja Twarz Brzmi Znajomo.

Still Shocking after All These Years?

Starla still makes new womanless findings in those old high school yearbooks and when she does, she sends them to me to pass on to you. Her latest finding from the 1998 Naperville (Illinois) Central High School yearbook has a story to accompany the photograph.

The photo does not reveal any "exaggeration of the female anatomy," so it seems like the school principal might have thrown the exaggeration statement in just to cover his transphobia. And I wonder if what was inappropriate in 1998 is still inappropriate in 2016? I imagine your mileage may vary.

Wearing Venus.

Alexander Vlahos (center) femulates in French television's Versailles.

CoverGirl's Cover Boy

CoverGirl spokesperson James Charles

Just last Wednesday, I wondered if we are a tipping point regarding the integration of womenswear into menswear.

I asked, "Will men in skirts and dresses become common and accepted in our society real soon now?"

I answered, "I dunno, but anything can happen."

Well, anything happened on Tuesday when CoverGirl cosmetics announced their first male spokesperson, James Charles.

TeenVogue summed it up perfectly, "In the past year or so, we’ve seen a substantial shift in how our society approaches gender and the confining stereotypes that generally go hand-in-hand. For instance, long gone are the days of it being 'unacceptable' for boys to rock bold lipstick, a poppin’ highlight, or whatever makeup they fancy. Countless males have taken to YouTube and other social platforms like Instagram to show off their beauty skills — which are exceptionally legit — and we couldn’t be happier about this change in stride. And now it seems we’re breaking down barriers even further, and the proof is in Covergirl’s newest spokesperson: James Charles."

So young men are now using cosmetics just like young women did back in the day. But what about older men? When will they start making up their pretty faces?

"Never happen," you say.

Well, on last night's episode of ABC television's Modern Family, the Phil Dunphy character (played by 49-year-old Ty Burrell) raised some eyebrows by wearing lipstick and eye makeup in boy mode.

And so it goes.

Veit Alex, male womenswear model

A femulator having her face made up.

Beyond Katy Keene

When I was a youngster, one of my first favorite comic book characters was Katy Keene, the long-legged fashion queen with jet black hair. I was fascinated by her glamorous image and I loved cutting out the Katy Keene paper dolls and outfits that appeared in the pages of her comic books.

No one ever discouraged Little Stana's interest in Katy Keene. In fact, Mom abetted it by helping me cut out the more difficult outfits. (Sometimes I think Mom wanted me to be a girl. She always encouraged me in all of my interests including those on the feminine side of the street.)

I don't recall any crossdressing in the pages of Katy Keene, but I did wish I could wear some of the outfits that Katy wore.

As I grew older, I started to worry about my image, so I stopped reading Katy Keene to avoid being branded a "sissy." Superman, Batman, Dick Tracy, and Mad magazine replaced Katy and soon I encountered crossdressing in their four-colored pages.

I remember a female impersonating gangster appearing in a Batman story. I also recall stories in which Superman's pal, Jimmy Olsen, went undercover en femme. Dick Tracy had so many encounters with gangsters in drag that I still wonder about the Chester Gould's feminine side. Over the years, Mad had numerous encounters with crossdressing.

Meanwhile, Japanese comic books (manga) and cartoons (anime) have lots of crossdressing. Over 10 years ago, Jana built a web site dedicated to trans content in Japanese comic books and cartoons. But one thing led to another and Jana expanded the web site to include television, films, literature and history, as well as Japanese comic books and cartoons.

Jana's TG Lists, subtitled "transgender in media," which is accessible here, is an amazing collection of trans-media. I highly recommend it!

Wearing Bebe.

Long-time Femulate reader Sheila attending the Southern Comfort Conference.

Lady Di

Saturday, as I headed out to buy groceries, I hit the button preset for WLNG on 92.1 MHz on the AM-FM radio and drove down the north side of my 1,000-foot mountain, which is not favorable to WLNG, 50 miles to my south-southeast. Yet, WLNG hung in there as I descended the mountain and continued my drive through the relatively flat river valley below.

I was paying more attention to the traffic than the radio, but sitting at a red traffic light about 2 minutes after my descent, it occurred to me that the female announcer now on the radio was not a voice I had ever heard on WLNG. In passing, the announcer mentioned the station's call sign: WOMR, which is on the tip of Cape Cod, about 145 miles to my east-northeast.

After the light turned green and I continued on my journey, WOMR hung in there for about a half mile, then gave up the frequency to WLNG.

As a radio ham, something like this gets my attention because it indicates unusual radio conditions and affords me the opportunity to hear other stations that I would not usually hear under normal radio conditions.

As a trans woman, I mention this because WOMR is a beacon whenever I drive to Fantasia Fair in Provincetown. When I get east of Providence and approach Cape Cod, I tune the radio to 92.1 and wait for WOMR to get louder and stronger as I get closer to Provincetown. 

WOMR is a very eclectic radio station like many other public broadcasting community radio stations. And while I am in and around town, I listen to WOMR whenever I listen to the radio.

Googling WOMR, I discovered another interesting aspect of the radio station: WOMR’s radio personality named Lady Di, who by day is the town's board of selectmen secretary, Vernon Porter! 

You can read all about Lady Di here and here and you can listen to her radio shows "Leggs Up and Dancing with Lady Di" on Fridays from 5-7 PM and "Chattin Up with Lady Di" on every other Thursday 8 PM. If you are out of the radio range of WOMR (like most of us), you can listen to her shows via the Internet at womr.org.

Wearing Venus.

Tim Jo on the 2012 Halloween episode of television's The Neighbors.

Hillary for Halloween

Everyday, I receive e-mails urging me to contribute financially to some cause. Lately, many of those e-mails have been in the political realm.

A few days ago, I received an e-mail from the Democratic National Committee (DNC) addressed to my male e-mail address with the subject being "Break out your best pantsuit, Stan."

My first thought was "How did they know that Stan owned a pantsuit?"

The e-mail came from Lindsey Reynolds, the Chief Operating Officer of the DNC urging me to contribute to Hillary Clinton's campaign. In the e-mail, Ms. Reynolds wrote, "We're also getting closer to my favorite October holiday: Halloween. I can't wait to see little girls all over the country in their best pantsuit dressed up as their hero, and our next president. (And not just the girls! My son, Mason, has even asked if he can be Hillary for Halloween -- so I may have him try out the college Hillary look out because she was just too cool.)"

Wow! You go, Mason!

Anyway, in 2008, I thought about femulating Sarah Palin for Halloween, but I did not think I could pull it off, so I didn't try. But I might be able to pull off a Hillary femulation.

Wearing Madeleine.

Mart Müürisepp femulates Nancy Sinatra and These Boots Are Made For Walking 
on Estonian television's Your Face Sound Familiar.

My Traditional Halloween

When I attend a civilian Halloween event, I dress like a woman on the street (and I don't mean a street-walker). For example, my Halloween costume for work is "office girl drag," that is, I try to emulate how women typically dress for the office.

On the other hand, when I attend a trans Halloween event (like a support group Halloween party), I dress in a costume that a woman might wear on Halloween. For example, for my support group's past Halloween parties, I dressed as a school girl, Marilyn Monroe, Jacqueline Kennedy, French maid, bat girl (photo above), and Playboy bunny, among other things.

Why?

For trans Halloween events, the answer is easy.

I dress in a costume a woman might wear because in the trans world, I normally dress as a woman. As a result, a "woman on the street" costume would not be a costume (unless I dressed like a street-walker).

For civilian Halloween events, the answer is more complicated.

I could dress in a costume a woman might wear for civilian Halloween events, but I never have.

Like many of us, my first forays in public en femme were on Halloween. Just dressing as a woman among civilians was a major accomplishment and the thrill of a lifetime of anticipation.

In theory, dressing like a woman on the street rather than say a Playboy bunny, I might get fewer of those knowing looks that imply that I crossdress more often than just October 31. But I always femulate too well, not like the average guy in drag on Halloween, so I get lots of those knowing looks.

I'm not sensitive about it. If someone confronts me, I come right back with "Normally, I only crossdress on weekends" and they don't know what to say.

So, dressing like a woman on the street for civilian Halloween events does not buy me much with regard to fooling anyone about my proclivity to crossdress. However, the comment, "who is the woman (referring to me) not wearing a costume" never gets old.

I guess that dressing like a woman on the street for civilian events has become my personal Halloween tradition. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

(Caveat Emptor: This is a repurposed post from the past.)

Wearing Intermix.

Asifa Lahore, Muslim professional femulator