So what did you become when you grew up?

I did not become a mommy, a fashion model or a singer in a rock 'n' roll girl group. Although I continued to dress like one whenever I could.

Meanwhile, I got through high school, college and law school still not sure what I wanted to do when I grew up. I had no love of the law and only went to law school because I did not know what to do after I graduated from college. My father suggested I follow his brother/my uncle's footsteps and become a lawyer. Although I got my law degree, I never practiced, but I did follow my uncle’s footsteps because he was a crossdresser, too.

My father worked at the comic book factory and brought home comic books and Sunday funnies that the factory produced. That influenced me to write and illustrate my own books, culminating is a Mad magazine copycat called Crazy. 

My drawing skills were OK, but my writing skills were very good and many of my teachers and professors complimented me on my writing. So I took a journalism course in college and it did not take long to realize I did not want to be a journalist (although, as a class assignment, I got to see and report on Christine Jorgensen’s appearance at UCONN).

I continued to draw and write through law school and after graduation, I got a job writing for the ham radio organization, ARRL, and its prestigious magazine QST, a job I held for over three decades! 

After two years on the staff at ARRL, I was recruited to work as a technical writer for General DataComm or as I called it “Modems ‘R’ Us.” So I freelanced for the ARRL and technically wrote manuals for various companies until I retired in 2017.

My writing for ARRL (including best selling books) made me well known throughout ham radio world... a “ham radio legend,” which is what a fellow ham called me right to my face one day.

All during that time, I crossdressed. Eventually joining a support group where, of course, I edited the group’s newsletter. And eventually doing outreach and mixing it up with the civilians in public with me en femme and them en whatever.

Then I became a blogger. Invented the word “femulate” to give my blog a name and have been writing it for the past 17, going on 18 years! 

I’m still not sure what I want to be when I grow up, but I do enjoy being a femulating blogger, so maybe that is what I want to be when I grow up. 

And so it goes.

Wearing Venus

Rhonda Williams in the lobby of the Palm Beach Hotel. 

(Rhonda blogs at Rhonda's Escape)

What else do you want to be when you grow up?

Femulating The Supremes

Besides playing mommy in kindergarten, I occasionally played fashion model at home. After waking up, I would strip off my pajamas, wrap a bedsheet around my body simulating a long evening gown and strut down the imaginary catwalk in my bedroom. (I completely forgot about playing fashion model until I started writing this post!)

A little older, I became a 1960s rocker and The Supremes was one of my favorite groups from that era. In my opinion, their sound epitomized Motown in the 1960s. I bought most of their 45s and some of their LPs during the singing group’s heyday.

In addition to their music, I loved their style. (I think I loved their style before I loved their music.) The gowns they wore on their television appearances were fab and I dreamed about starting my own singing group just so I could dress like them.

One thing holding me back was my singing voice or lack thereof. It may have prevented me from performing as the lead singer of “Stana and the Starlites,” but it did not prevent me from buying and wearing fabulous evening gowns. On a couple of occasions, I even lip-synced while wearing one!

Wearing Alexia Armor

Melody Scott enjoying some holiday cheer.

What do you want to be when you grow up?

On Monday, the local morning television show had a report about a local toy store. The story began in the Disney princess department where you can purchase princess dresses and accessories for your own little princess. 

The reporter intimated that girls and boys would enjoy shopping in that part of the store! Then the reporter became excited when she spotted a toy cleaning playset (broom, dustpan, mop, etc.)... the perfect gift for her son, who loves to clean up!

Reminded me of my year in kindergarten.

For play time, my kindergarten class of about 30 boys and girls was divided into five unisex groups. Each group took turns each day playing in different play areas: sandbox, toy blocks, art, play house, etc. 

When it was my group’s turn to play house, us boys played at being mommies, never daddies. Some of the male mommies donned frilly aprons and “cooked” in the play kitchen, while other male mommies tended to the babies ― bottle-feeding Betsy Wetsy dolls and changing their diapers after they wet. When Betsy was dry, male mommies could push their babies around the classroom in doll carriages.

In addition to the frilly aprons, there was a toy box containing pocketbooks, high heels, lady’s hats and adult-sized dresses. There were not enough items to completely outfit each mommy, so we would select just an item or two for our femulations. (I usually tried to get a pocketbook and a pair of high heels.)

None of the male mommies rebelled at being feminized (by our two female teachers) and some of us really got into it by affecting “female” characteristics, such as speaking in a higher pitch and using fabulous mannerisms.

Initially, I felt embarrassed playing a mommy, but it did not seem to bother the other boys, so I played along like a girl with the rest of the boys.

I wonder if any of my fellow mommies became femulators like me.

Wearing Nine West

Nancy Ng Santa’s Helper HO photo

Someday Funnies: Mommy’s home watching the Jets game

Wearing NameBrandWigs.

Dee and her friend Michelle shopping at the St. Louis Galleria. Here is the link to Dee’s posts on Kandi’s blog: https://www.kandis-land.com/author/dee/

Someday Funnies: Literally Feminine

Wearing Bebe

Jennifer Joy Atwell at her group’s Halloween gathering

Someday Funnies: The Queen of Wax

Wearing Venus

Julia Shaw (her blog: https://juliemshaw.blogspot.com/)

Friday Femulations

🎄  I have received a lot of fabulous holiday photos for the Femulator slot and began posting them today (in order received). If you have not yet sent me your holiday photo, there is still time to do so. Just follow the directions in Monday’s post.

🎄  Ty Deran has a very cool video that I highly recommend. Titled “Johnson & Johnson Consumer Health’s #CAREWITHPRIDE at Family Equality’s LA Impact: A Night of Heroes,” you can view it on YouTube.

🎄  Move a few letters around and “Stana” becomes “Santa” ...also “Satan.” (Yikes!).

🎄  Over the years, I received a lot of compliments about my legs. In fact, a transman acquaintance nicknamed me “Legs,” which is quite a coincidence because when she was an office girl, my mother was nicknamed “Leggy” in recognition of her shapely gams (like mother, like son). When it comes to legs, I am not very discerning and classify legs thusly: skinny legs, fat legs and all the legs in between. I will admit to falling in the “in between” group, but I do not see why my legs are considered more shapely than the others that are in between. Go figure (pun intended).  

Wearing Adrianna Papell

Barbra Anne Taylor with Santa and his helper in 1997

Someday Funnies: Men Wearing Pants!!!

Wearing Venus

Ernst Loretto, German femulator, circa 1910

Getting Fit

In the past, I have complained here that after losing weight, many of my shoes are loose. 

Elegantly walking in heels is difficult if your stilettos are loose. I have tried various inserts to pad out my loose shoes, but they do not help much. They work if your shoes are slightly loose, but if your shoes are a size too big, then they are useless. The only fix is to purchase new shoes in a smaller size. 

Brick and mortar Payless is long gone and there are no stores around here that carry shoes in sizes that my feet require, so online shopping is the only option. But I have been leery about that option because I am not sure what size I need. I assume size 11-1/2 or 11 would fit, but who knows!

Online Christmas shopping last week, I decided to do some shopping for myself and at the top of my wish list were heels that fit. I searched Amazon and found a pair of patent leather stiletto pointed toe 2.5-inch mid-heel pumps by a company called Odernee.

I decided what they heck and ordered the heels in the nude patent color size 11 and they arrived two days later. I tried them on and was happy with the fit. They are comfortably tight and will not fall off my feet. 

And I was so happy with my purchase that I ordered another pair in black patent. (By the way, the shoes come in a huge variety of colors.)

Wearing Ann Taylor

A German professional femulator, circa 1910.

Someday Funnies: Keeping Up with the Hubby

Wearing Venus

Bert Wheeler femulating in the 1931 film Peach O'Reno.