drawing to crossdress

I drew a lot when I was a youngster, teenager, and college student. I think I used drawing as an outlet for my desire to crossdress because a lot of my drawings had crossdressing themes.

Drawing took a back seat in my life after I graduated from school and began pursuing a career.

I drew a few cartoons and pictures for my daughter when she was a youngster to entertain her, but it was nothing serious.

Last fall, my daughter encouraged me to take up drawing again and she dragged me to an art supply store where I bought some drawing supplies (pencils, pens, erasers, sketchpad, etc.). They sat on my desk unused until today.

Inspired by the artwork that J Morgetron sent me, I spent about an hour before dinner drawing the picture you see here. It is a self-portrait with a crossdressing theme.

It is not bad considering it is the first serious thing I have drawn in over 30 years. It even looks a little like me en femme!

prize arrives

A few weeks ago, I won a contest on J Morgetron's blog, Tres Bizarre.

The prize arrived today and I love it! J Morgetron did the artwork herself and it's theme is the reason I swear by my pot of orange beard cover.

J also sent along a story buk, Xingu by Edith Wharton, with a personalized inscription that I will cherish.

vintage crossdressing (circa 1903)

Arthur and Horace out en femme on the boardwalk, circa 1903.

fame and fortune... but not so much fortune

I received an e-mail from Diana yesterday informing me that this posting from my blog was reprinted in the newsletter of The Sunshine Club, a trans support group located in Hadley, Mass.

As occasional editor of my support group's newsletter, I have often reprinted postings from my blog, but this is the first time another support group has done so.

I don't mind; in fact, I am honored, but I just wish they had informed me that they were going to reprint it because I would have missed it if Diana had not alerted me!

My Favorite Mistake: Michael Musto On How Cross-Dressing Cost Him An Ad Campaign

"Women's clothes are always more fun than men's. And there was a picture in the article of me in this big hoop dress. But not looking female at all, I mean, I wasn't in drag, I was just standing there with my bicycle, in a hoop dress, looking kind of clownish."

Read it all here.

I need a thin red belt

Not exactly separated at birth, but certainly similar fashion sense, that's me on the left and Leighton Meester on the right. (Miss Meester is a TV star; I am just a TV.)

first transgender rally in Northampton, Mass.

NORTHAMPTON - Already the site of one of the region's oldest and biggest gay pride marches, Northampton is about to become home of the first transgender march in the eastern United States.

The New England Transgender March and Rally, which is scheduled for June 7, will feature speakers and entertainers from across the spectrum of the transgender community and is expected to draw participants from across the country.

Read the rest of the story here.

some people hate us (and that's why I do outreach)

Sara Whitman wrote this in her blog today:

"I have no words for how I feel today. Not only was a 15-year-old boy shot in the back of the head by someone who hated him because he was gay, because he was not masculine, because he wore jewelry and makeup, but also a 10-year-old boy hung himself in England.

"He wanted to be a girl. He wanted to wear his sister's clothes and makeup. His mother let him wear girl's underwear but told him he'd have to wait till he was older to wear makeup."

Read the rest of this sad commentary here.

India's cross-dressing Oprah

Rose (just Rose) is now India's first trans-gender talk-show host. Her show, "Ippadikku Rose" ("Yours, Rose") will be broadcast to up to 64 million people in the southern state of Tamil Nadu later this month. It is, according to the New York Times, "expected to cause a sensation."

Read the rest of the amazing story here

And read more here.

playing with dolls

I don't recall playing with dolls much when I was a youngster.

The baby dolls that girls played with back then did not interest me. I was interested in more creative playthings like drawing, cutting, and gluing, so I occasionally cut out paper dolls and created original outfits for the dolls to wear.

Barbie and the other fashion dolls showed up at the tail-end of my time as a youngster, i.e, about the time I stopped dressing paper dolls and started dressing myself in my mother's and sister's apparel.

Anyway, surfing the Internet, I discovered a Web site of online virtual paper dolls. Scissors are not required. Instead, you dress the doll of your choice by clicking on then and dragging items of apparel over the doll.

There is a huge collection of dolls to dress, but the one that caught my eye was the "boys dressing like girls" paper doll. I tried it and enjoyed mixing and matching apparel to put together some cool outfits for the boy to wear.

The boy doll is rather pretty for a male, so when you add a wig, girl apparel, and jewelry, he passes very well!

Enjoy!

plans en femme

I am looking forward to a late afternoon and evening en femme one week from today.

First stop is Saint Joseph College in West Hartford, CT. I will be doing outreach at a human sexuality class with three other transwomen. The other three identify as transsexual (one post-op, two-pre-op); I am the token crossdresser.

Second stop will be dinner at a yet-to-be-determined restaurant in the Hartford area. The restaurant is yet-to-be-determined because it depends on who shows up for outreach and who wants to go where to eat after outreach. (I'm easy. I like all kinds of cuisine, so I will go anywhere.)

Third stop will be a visit to my support group's monthly Wednesday meeting. The meeting agenda will feature a representative from Glamour Boutique, who will talk about their store and product line.

Whenever I attend my support group's meetings, I feel like one of those people who goes to church once a year (usually on Palm Sunday to get free palms)! My last support group visit was Halloween 2006.

What would Staci do?

A few days ago, Meg sent the following e-mail:

"I'm going to go out (alone) for the second time tomorrow. I'm not sure I handle interactions with other people well. I assume they know that I'm just a 'Girl For A Day' and I say something to make sure that they know that I know that they know.

"But should I just assume that I pass perfectly and they don't notice that the voice doesn't match the outfit very well? I'm afraid that might make them uncomfortable about what to say (just in case I'm really a girl with a guy's voice, not a guy with a girl's wardrobe).

"What would Staci do?"

In the past when I went out, I waited for the people I interacted with to give me a clue that they knew I was a guy (because I wanted to know if I was passing successfully as a woman). If I did not get a clue, I often tried to give them a clue and sometimes I would just flat out say I was a guy.

Half the time, they were clueless and were surprised that I was a guy and not a gal.

The other half of the time, I was clueless and after I clued them in, I discovered that they already knew, but were accommodating me for one reason or another. Maybe they were being nice and respected my desire to be treated as a woman. If they were a salesperson, maybe they were patronizing me, i.e., they were trying to make a sale and did not want to lose the sale by acknowledging that they knew I was a guy.

After I realized this, I decided to go along with the flow and accept (and enjoy) the fact that I was being treated as a woman, for whatever reason. Hopefully, I passed, but if I did or did not pass, I sure did not want to out myself by intentionally giving them clues.

I admit that I am still curious and look for clues, but as they say, "Curiosity killed the cat," so I bite my tongue and try not to give myself away.

president's day

Our nation has had 43 presidents. If the estimates are correct that 5%* of the population crossdresses, then 2.15 of our presidents have crossdressed. So I wonder which of our presidents have also been first ladies?

*I think that 5% estimate is low, but that is a discussion for another day.

my horoscope

Usually, I don't read horoscopes. But last night, while reading the new issue of Harper's Bazaar, I noticed that their horoscope page featured the horoscope for Pisces (my sign), so I read it and here is how it read:

"The expectation in the air as you anticipate a change is making you nervous, and you find yourself torn between feeling trapped by others and wanting to pursue your own agenda. You also have to decide whether you have a right to break free or need to honor your obligations. Only searching your heart can help you with this."

Wow! That is so on the money that I could not believe it. When I read it, I felt like someone knew exactly what is going on in my head. It gave me pause.

women resembling trans-sisters, part 5

Victoria Beckham resembles Lon Chaney's portrayal of the phantom of the opera.

(Women resembling trans-sisters help us real trans-sisters to blend in society. They obfuscate the line between males and females, which makes it easier for real trans-sisters to pass.)

purses in film history

Kirk Douglas carries a designer bag in the 1953 film Act of Love.

women resembling trans-sisters, part 4

Actress Danielle Darrieux looks rather masculine in this Mon Film cover photo.

(Women resembling trans-sisters help us real trans-sisters to blend in society. They obfuscate the line between males and females, which makes it easier for real trans-sisters to pass.)

miniskirts in film history

Raymond Massey wears a belted tunic and skort ensemble in the 1936 film Things To Come.

Jean Shrimptom alert!

Today's Femulate This image features drop-dead-gorgeous swingin' '60s London model Jean Shrimpton.

If written about her here before, so there is no need to repeat myself. But yesterday, I came across a stash of her images on the net and I wanted to share one with you today.

Isn't she gorgeous and how about that to-die-for suit?

Happy Valentine's Day!