found

While looking for something else, I found a photo that was among the missing: Helen Boyd and I at the 2006 installment of the my support group's annual banquet. I was chairperson of the banquet that year and Helen was our guest speaker.

The Whitest Kids U'Know

I noticed ads for a new television show on IFC called The Whitest Kids U'Know. The ads reminded me of Monty Python Flying Circus and Kids in the Hall, i.e., a show featuring an all-male comedy team doing short comedy skits. And like Monty Python and Kid in the Hall, the female roles are often performed by males in drag.

I checked the TV schedule last night and noted an airing of The Whitest Kids U'Know at 8 PM. The listing indicated that one of the skits would be a parody of The Dating Game. I figured there was the potential for some drag in that skit, so I tuned in at 8 PM.

Sure enough, The Dating Game parody had a male in drag interviewing three potential dates. The drag was so good that initially, I thought it was a woman playing the role, not a man in drag. Nice outfit, excellent makeup, and even "her" voice was convincing, but her blonde wig was too shiny and when she frowned, she looked like a guy.

I won't go into details, but The Dating Game parody was not my cup of comedy. It was more outrageous, than funny, but the drag was worth the watch. I watched other skits on the show and in my opinion, there were some hits and misses.

I will continue to tune when I can to check out the technical aspects of the female impersonation on the show and maybe have a laugh, too.

my workshop

Yesterday, I learned that the True Colors Conference committee accepted my proposal to present a workshop at the True Color Conference in March. The conference is for school-aged GLBT youth and their adult supporters and/or facilitators (parents, teachers, guidance counselors, social workers, etc.).

The topic of my workshop is "Body Image and Male-to-Female Crossdressing."

Here is my description of my workshop:

"Body image is how we think our body looks. In some cases, our body image can be dramatically different to how our body actually appears to others. Crossdressing is the act of wearing clothing commonly associated with another gender, for example, a male dressing like a female. The potential disparity between body image and reality is very high when you add crossdressing to the mix. This workshop addresses this potential disparity and describes how to work with it."

One of the stated goals of my workshop is "To evangelize the normality of crossdressing."

I attended the conference last year for one day manning the booth that my support group sponsored. It was such a rewarding experience interacting with the kids and adults that I wanted to do more, so this year I will do more.

This year, for the first time, the conference is at the University of Connecticut, my alma mater. Last time I was in Storrs, I wore a graduation cap and gown. Who would have guessed that my next visit to Storrs, I'd be wearing a dress again!

20 years!

While reading Huffington yesterday, I noticed this headline, "Oprah Talks Masturbation," but I did not read the article that accompanied the headline.

When I arrived home after work, Oprah was on the television. I was not paying much attention to the show until there was a spot with Ben Affleck in which he admitted that he did it for 20 years!

I was quite surprised that a major film celebrity would admit that on national television, but as I stayed tuned, I realized that the topic of the show was smoking and not that other thing!

joining Hillary's team

Women are taking over.

My editor is a woman. My manager is a woman. Soon my President will be a woman.

In the not-too-distant past, men filled those positions. Now women are filling those roles and obsolescencing the men.

And it is happening everywhere in both the private and public sectors. Women are breaking through the glass ceiling and erecting new ceilings to keep men in a newfound place, i.e., reporting to women.

The women's team is on a roll and is winning big time in the war between the sexes. If you don't want to face the future as a second-class citizen, join the other team before it's too late.

Crossdressing is one way to switch teams and begin fitting into the new woman's world order. And you don't have to go full femme glam from the get go. Instead, you can ease yourself into playing for the other team.

Start with a little makeup (lip gloss and mascara) and have your hair permed and highlighted.

Replace your T-shirt and boxers with a sports bra and some figure-shaping panties.

Buy a couple of pants suits and maybe a pearl set. (While you are at the mall shopping for your new wardrobe, get your ears pierced, too.)

Knee-highs will do for now, but you must buy a pair of killer power pumps to show that you really mean business. Three-inch heels or higher will show the women that you are serious about playing on their team.

If you don't have a man bag already, buy a designer pocketbook to carry your wallet, keys. cell phone, compact, makeup, etc. because women's pants usually have no pockets, in case you didn't know. (There are a lot more things you will learn playing on the women's team.)

To show solidarity with your teammates, consider a name change. At a minimum, drop your "maiden name" and depending on whether you are married or single, use your wife or mother's surname in its place. Also, again depending on whether you are married or single, start using "Mrs." or "Ms." as your courtesy title instead of "Mr." You might even subtly womanize your first name, for example, change Danny to Danni, Stanley to Stanli, Chris to Chrissi, etc.

Nothing will get you kicked off the team faster than bad bathroom etiquette, so be sure to put the toilet seat down after you use the lady's room. Even better, get used to urinating in the seated position and give your feet a rest from wearing those killer pumps all day.

Those are the minimum requirements for playing successfully on women's team. But be alert. If you see your old golfing buddy down the street going to work in a dress, then it is time to step it up, shave your legs, and visit Lane Bryant for some additional wardrobe adjustments.

the rest of the story

Back in May, I wrote here about how I e-mailed my state senator and state representative asking them to support the gender anti-discrimination bill.

My state representative replied, but my state senator did not and he voted against the bill. The state senate passed the legislation despite my senator's negative vote, but the bill never came up for a vote in the state house of representatives.

Out of the blue, I received an e-mail from my state senator yesterday. He wrote:

"I was reviewing old emails and came across yours, to which I do not believe I ever responded. Please accept my apologies for that oversight. As you may know by now, I voted against the bill in the Education Committee and on the floor of the Senate because of the provision relating to our public schools. I was and remain concerned that young children may not be able to comprehend the fundamental change that someone in this situation is experiencing. I appreciate your writing to me about this and would encourage you to contact me again for any reason."

I have no comment, so far.

Suzanne Pleshette

I fell in love with Suzanne Pleshette in 1962 when my aunts took me to Radio City Music Hall. Back then, Radio City showed a first run movie after the stage show. The main attraction for us was the stage show, but we stuck around for the movie anyway.

The movie was a love story, Rome Adventure starring Troy Donahue. Ms. Pleshette was Troy's love interest in the film. I don't recall the plot of the film, but I do recall how I became infatuated with Ms. Pleshette during the film. She was gorgeous and I began seeking out all her film appearances. (A year later, she appeared in The Birds, where I think she looked even more gorgeous.)

My experiments in female emulation had just begun and Ms. Pleshette was my role model. She was famous for her deep mannish voice, an attribute transwoman often take note of when they try to femininize their voice. Back then, I was only interested in the way she looked and dressed; I wanted to look and dress just like her.

I just heard the news that lung cancer took her life at the age of 70. I am very sad and will miss my role model.

shopping again today

My wife's coat search continued today and I took her to another Marshalls in the area.

My wife found a coat to buy and I also found a couple of items to add to my feminine wardrobe: a cute black knee-length skirt for $10. It is a straight skirt with pleats from the hem up about six inches. I also bought a black shirred chiffon scarf/shawl with silver flecks for $15.

shopping today

The little woman wanted me to take her to Marshalls to look for a coat to buy, so I did.

While she was trying on every coat in her size, I spied a cute cream colored cropped retro sweater jacket in XL for $25.

The more coats my wife tried on, the more I wanted that sweater jacket.

My wife did not find a coat to buy, but I decided to buy the sweater jacket and when I returned home, I tried it on and it was a perfect fit.

Funny! Going into the store, my wife remarked how often we go shopping for her and she comes home with nothing, while I come home with something.

high heels reconsidered

I dunno about you, but after viewing this photo, my feet began to ache even though I am not wearing heels!

beyond Katy Keene

When I was a youngster, my first favorite comic book character 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 Lana's interest in Katy Keene. In fact, Ma abetted it by helping me cut out the more difficult outfits. (Sometimes I think Ma 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 buying Katy Keene off the comic book racks 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 a story 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.

An excellent source for these crossdressing references is the TG Graphics and Fiction Archive. Last time the Web site was updated was March 2002, but the site is still live and an excellent resource for learning more about crossdressing in the comics.

Meanwhile, Japanese comic books (manga) and cartoons (anime) have lots of crossdressing. I am researching this subject now and discovered the fine work of Jana, who has a Web site, Jana’s TG Manga And Anime Pages, and a blog, Jana's TG Manga and Anime Journal dedicated to trans content in Japanese comic books and cartoons.

vintage crossdressing, part 2

I prefer vintage clothing. When I can't get the real stuff, which in my size is often the case, I will wear modern retro clothing as a substitute.

I told my vintage crossdressing story before, so I won't bore you with it again. I just want to mention story I found on the Internet about another vintage clothing goddess. (Be sure to check out the images and see the vintage outfits to die for.)

Feel like a woman, Wear a dress!

"Feel like a woman., Wear a dress!" so says the message on this image that accompanies an interesting interview with Diane von Furstenberg, famed fashion designer and creator of the wrap dress, which is my favorite.

How old does Staci / Lana look?

Thank you for participating in my poll.

For the record, I am 56 years old going on 57 in seven weeks.

I must be doing something right because 75% of the voters think I look younger than my actual age and over half (52%) think I look ten years younger than I really am.

Only 14% think I look my actual age, while 8% think I look older than I actually am.

Anyone who thinks I look 60 or older either needs glasses or is just jealous of my Amazonian beauty. I should just discount their votes, but I am sugar and spice nice and will let them have their say (no matter how catty they are).

On the other hand, anyone who thinks I look younger than 19 also needs to check their eyeglass prescription!

Here are the full results:

19 years old or younger: 3 votes (4%)
20 to 29 years old: 2 votes (2%)
30 to 39 years old: 13 votes (17%)
40 to 49 years old: 39 votes (52%)
50 to 59 years old: 11 votes (14%)
60 to 69 years old: 3 votes (4%)
70 years old or older: 3 votes (4%)

blogging without obligation

I found this reading Jodie's blog. She got it from tartx blog.

Blogging without obligation makes a lot of sense to me and I now subscribe to its philosophy.

Here is what blogging without obligation is all about:

After coming across what seemed to be the 4000th or so post on someone's blog starting with "I'm sorry I haven't posted in awhile." I decided it is time to rethink what makes a good blog and the expectations that have come to be part of it. I am thinking that no one should utter those words again . . .and with that thought I give you Blogging Without Obligation.

• Because you shouldn't have to look at your blog like it is a treadmill.

• Because its okay to just say what you have to say. If that makes for a long post, fine. Short post, fine. Frequent post, fine. Infrequent post, fine.

• Because its okay to not always be enthralled with the sound of your own typing.

• Because sometimes less is more.

• Because only blogging when you feel truly inspired keeps up the integrity of your blog.

• Because they are probably not going to inscribe your stat, link and comment numbers on your tombstone.

• Because for most of us blogging is just a hobby. A way to express yourself and connect with others. You should not have to apologize for lapses in posts. Just take a step back and enjoy life, not everything you do has to be "bloggable."

• Because if you blog without obligation you will naturally keep your blog around longer, because it won't be a chore. Plus, just think you will be doing your part to eradicate post pollution. One post at a time. . .

It's not your father's girdle!

Shapewear has come a long way. Today's offerings in the body shaping department are high tech and seamless, too.

After viewing this report on today's shapewear, this girl is reconsidering the shapewear she has been wearing forever now and you might do the same.

A Major Award

Hurray for me!
This won a major award here.

King Kong (2005)

Believe it or not, the 2005 remake of King Kong contains crossdressing.

After Kong is brought to New York City, Jack Driscoll (played by Adrien Brody) attends a Broadway play, a comedy titled Cry Havoc. In the scene of the play that appears in this film, a male actor is crossdressed for some convoluted reason in order to win over the girl of his dreams.

(Yup! When I was dating and wanted to win over a girl, I always got crossdressed and drank tea with her.)

He wore a very pretty outfit, but he was not very pretty.

dress to shop

I'll admit it: I overdress when I go out en femme and am a prime candidate for OA (Overdressers Anonymous). But, I just found a perfect excuse for dressing up when I go shopping: better service.

Read about it here.

can you guess her age?

You can read this article about guessing a woman's age and apply its strategy to guessing mine (in the "How old does Staci / Lana look" poll).

The article also offers tips on how to work around those signs that giveaway your age.