fashionable country

Sunday night, the television was droning on in the background as I did work on my laptop. While I hacked away, the Academy of Country Music Awards show began and I planned to change the channel because (a) I had no interest in watching another awards show, (b) I don't follow country music, and (c) I dislike Reba McIntyre, who hosted the show.

But as the show went on, I noticed that the women appearing on the show were dressed in high glam. So, I began paying closer attention and did not change the channel.

Actually, I did change the channel once.

In my humble opinion, Miley Cyrus has a lousy voice. Her voice is so bad that I changed channels while she brayed. How she got so far on so little talent is truly amazing.

Back to the women's outfits.

Wow! The country stars outdid the film stars on the awards shows this year. I watched a lot of the film awards shows this year and the fashions in general were mediocre. Nothing caught my eye and made me wish I had a dress like that!

In contrast, on Sunday night, one woman after another appeared in knock-out gowns and dresses. Even donkey-voiced Miley and horse-faced Reba wore some nice things.

But my favorite outfit of the evening was the short, white, one-sleeved dress that Carrie Underwood wore at the beginning of the show (see the accompanying photo). I thought the dress was fabulous. I don't recall what she sang, but I will remember what she wore for a long time!

lobby day tomorrow

Despite my plans, I learned today that I will be unable to attend Lobby Day tomorrow.

I suspected late last week that work might bump my plans, so I held off calling my state senator and state representative to schedule appointments to meet with them on Tuesday.

My suspicions became reality today. So Plan B is to e-mail my state senator and state representative tomorrow and urge them to support legislation to protect transgenders from discrimination.

what's up with Ashley Adams?

Yesterday, I received an e-mail suggesting a novel I might enjoy reading. A short excerpt from the book followed the e-mail.

Nothing in the e-mail or excerpt whet my appetite for the book, so I wrote back and asked why might I enjoy reading the book.

Basically, the reply said that if I knew "why" ahead of time, it would spoil my enjoyment of the novel.

Here is a blurb about the book, whose title is Ashley Adams:

"Ashley Adams is the story of a successful young woman of twenty-five. She has a career as a model and actress. She holds a black belt in karate and is working towards her Master's degree. She is compassionate, caring and generous, helping those around her. To others, her life appears to be perfect. However, everyone has their secrets. As Ashley prepares to confide in her boyfriend about the most important aspect of her life, someone else discovers that secret. Ashley finds herself in a struggle to save her career and her future..."

My guess is that Ashley Adams is a transgender.

William Kelly is the author of Ashley Adams as well as the e-mails I received. The book is available at Buy Books on the Web and Barnes & Noble.

running on empty

I am running on empty, worn out, and feel like crap (physically and emotionally).

I have been dealing with a lot of annoying issues lately; nothing big, but a lot of small stuff.

I know I shouldn't worry about the small stuff, but I do.

Do I have the makings of a head cold or is it an allergy attack?

Maybe a good night's sleep will do the trick. Maybe not. I dunno.

The weather has been lousy around here, too, which doesn't help.

I am bummed out about it all.

And so it goes.

very fond of Fonda's outfit

I viewed Sunday in New York on TCM, a 1964 romantic comedy starring Jane Fonda and Rod Taylor. I enjoyed the film because (1) it included many scenes filmed in my favorite city with (2) many women dressed in the height of fashion, the early to mid-1960s (my favorite fashion era). Ms. Fonda, in particular, wore some outfits to die for. My favorite was the dress she wore in the photos accompanying this posting. The photos don't do her outfit justice. You have to see the film yourself to see why I am drooling. As usual, click on an image to magnify it.

ephemera with provenance

Yesterday, I received a new addition to my female impersonator ephemera collection: The Wonder Club matchbook you see on the right.

About a month ago, I received an e-mail out of the blue from Dennis, who wrote, "While doing a search on Google for 'The Wonder Club New Orleans,' your page came up. I noticed your interest in ephemera and since I was researching the Wonder Club because I have a matchbook from there I was going to offer on eBay I thought you might be interested in it and I wouldn't have to list it."

I was definitely interested and after exchanging e-mails, Dennis offered the matchbook cover gratis because it was not in the best condition. He also provided the following story about how he obtained it.

"I'm a collector of nautical/navy stuff and I won an old US Navy hat (the obsolete, brimless, Donald Duck type) on eBay a few years ago. I had put it away for a couple of years, but took it out recently to display it in my new apartment.

"As I was checking it and 'squaring it away,' I felt something in the headband. I figured out how to get it out without damaging the hat or the object. It was the matchbook! Some sailor had stashed this book of matches in his hat years ago and there it was until I found it last week.

"He (or someone) had written in pencil Lt.(?) Becht on the inside of the matchbook. You can see it in one of the pictures. This hat belonged to an enlisted man. There is no name written in the hat although there usually is."

"I know what I'm gonna say next might seem crazy or something, but here goes - I have no use for this item, but I hate to throw ANYTHING away. Due to its - not so great condition - and wanting someone who collects these types of items to have it, it's yours if you want it for free.

"This arrangement will satisfy my borderline craziness for refusing to throw anything away and at the same time, take it off my hands. Just tell me where to send it and I'll put it in the mail. All I ask is if you find out anything about the matchbook, Lt. Brecht or the club itself let me know."

What a great story!

Dennis, thank you so much for an interesting addition to my collection.

By the way, I estimate that the matchbook is from the 1940s or early 1950s. It features a photo of Mr. Billy Richard, "Gay Guy from Hollywood."

And, as usual, click on the image to magnify it.

lobby day

My next adventure out en femme will find me at our state capital lobbying state legislators to pass legislation to protect transgenders from discrimination.

Although discrimination on the basis of gender identity or expression is pervasive, Connecticut has no explicit law protecting individuals from discrimination based on gender identity or expression in employment, education, housing, public accommodations, and credit. HB 6452, An Act Concerning Discrimination, would remedy this by adding the phrase “gender identity or expression” to Connecticut’s existing non-discrimination laws, prohibiting this discrimination, and making our state safe for all residents.

This bill gives Connecticut’s Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities (CHRO) the authority to investigate complaints of discrimination on the basis of gender identity or expression and order appropriate remedies if such discrimination is found. It applies the same rules, procedures, and remedies that apply to other types of prohibited discrimination.

Tuesday is Lobby Day. The day begins with a 10 AM meeting in the Legislative Office Building in Hartford where we will be prepped on how to lobby our state representatives. Thereafter, we will actually lobby our state senator and state representative (like the federal government, Connecticut has two legislative houses, but only one senator and one representative per district).

My state senator has been an opponent of bill in the past, but now that he has announced that he is running for Chris Dodd's seat in the US Senate, I wonder if his views have become more diverse, but I doubt it.

My state representative is a Democrat and will probably be more open-minded. When I e-mailed him about the bill in the past, he replied that he would give it a fair shake.

And so it goes.

out of the closet

As usual, click on the image to magnify it.

the lost Lucy episode

Here is the script of a lost episode of I Love Lucy that never aired because Desi Arnaz thought it would ruin his manly Latin image. Reportedly, Lucille Ball had the only kinescope of that show and used it as blackmail whenever she thought Desi was philandering.

Click here to view the script.

To view the script, you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader, which you can obtain for free from http://www.abode.com/.

bushy eyebrows making a comeback

(updated below)

Good news, femulators, thinly plucked eyebrows are giving way to a more natural fuller brow.

Read all about it here.

UPDATE: When I clean up my eyebrows, which I usually do before going out en femme, they look exactly like the brows sported by Keira Knightly in the photo above. I used to worry that my eyebrows weren't feminine enough... well, not anymore.

sweet sixteen

Sunday's The Roanoke (VA) Times had a blog about two local high school womanless beauty pageants and mentioned that the two schools "don't compete on the athletic fields -- different divisions, all that. But who's to say they can't compete right here in the field of cyberspace?"

(At the end of the blog, readers could vote for the best beauty pageant.)

Maybe The Roanoke Times blogger is onto something, i.e., high schools competing against each other in womanless beauty pageants.

I can see it now: tryouts to join the womanless team, junior and varsity womanless teams, a full schedule of womanless competitions between high schools with a tiered play-off system to find the state champions.

If the high school womanless team concept becomes popular, colleges and universities will also field womanless teams. Eventually, the NCAA will get involved to find a national champion and give a brand new meaning to the term "Sweet Sixteen."

another Saturday night photo

Here is another photo of me from my support group's banquet on Saturday night. In this photo (taken by my good friend Deja), I am performing in our annual follies. I think I am lipsynching Goldfinger here and not Money (That's What I Want) because when I did Money, I was much more animated.

Funny how the flash of the camera brings out my white bra. It was not visible in person, but shows up in the photos. Next time I wear that dress, I must remember to wear a black bra.

As usual, click on the image to magnify it.

me last night

updated below

That's me last night at my support group's banquet. I will have a full report here for you later.

As usual, click on the image to magnify it.

UPDATE: Last night, I attended my support group's annual banquet.

There were 49 people in attendance, all dressed in beautiful evening gowns and cocktail dresses. I wore the vintage ballerina dress with my curly auburn hair as you can see in the accompanying photo.

I was amazed how many people did not recognize me because of my auburn hair. Even my good friend Diana L did not recognize me until I spoke.

I sat at the head table with our after-dinner speaker, Ann Stanback, from Love Makes A Family, and her spouse, Charlotte Kinlock. Charlotte mentioned she was from Waterbury, which is also my home town. Turns out we attended the same grammar school, but were two years apart and lived two streets away from each other. We did not know each other as kids, but we both knew a lot of the same people in the old neighborhood. As they say, "Small world!"

The hotel was rocking Saturday night. In the past, our banquet was usually the only event at the hotel, but last night there were other groups having events, too, and the place was crawling with civilians.

Diana L mentioned to me that one of the civilians approached her and asked about our group. She was surprised that we were crossdressers because she could not tell that there were males among our "ladies." That was a nice complement for our group!

A lot of civilians checked us out throughout the evening, maybe because we were dressed to kill when compared to the civilians or maybe because they had never seen so many beautiful crossdressers before. In either case, the civilians were civilized and there were no unpleasant comments or looks. In fact, some of the civilians were downright friendly.

During the "follies" portion of the evening, I lipsynced two songs, one right after the other. First, I did Goldfinger by Shirley Bassey, then I did Money (That's All I Want) by Josie and the Pussycats. I thought my Goldfinger was just ok, but one woman complimented my Goldfinger performance, so I guess was better than I thought.

I really got into Money (That's All I Want). It is one of my favorite rock songs and this version really rocked. The audience seemed to enjoy my performance. I noticed lots of people taking photos during my performance, so I must have done something right.

The banquets provide an opportunity to see old friends and make some new ones. Last night was no different. It was a very nice evening out en femme and ended too soon.

(I am very tired from staying out later than usual last night/this morning, so I apologize if the above thoughts are random and incoherent, but I wanted to document them before I forgot them. Tomorrow, when I am better rested, I may add some thoughts to my banquet story if I have anything more to say.)

poker face

As usual, click on the image to magnify it.

going vintage

Colleen e-mailed me yesterday to ask what I planned to wear to my support group's banquet tomorrow.

After going back and forth with Patty, my fashion consultant, this week, we decided that I should go vintage.

I have a dress that I bought almost 15 years ago that I have never worn out. The style of the dress invokes Jackie Kennedy and Audrey Hepburn in the early 1960s. Why I never wore it out is a story that I will keep to myself, but I am glad that I finally decided to wear it because it is a real knock-out.

When Patty saw it, she thought it won my dress competition hands-down when compared to the other dresses I was considering. Patty suggested my accessories; so I am all set for my big night out and all I have to do now is wait for it.

new ephemera

I added this newly-acquired Finocchio's mailing souvenir (circa 1960) to my female impersonator ephemera collection. You can view it and the rest of my collection on my ephemera Web page.

FYI, Finocchio's was a popular nightclub in San Francisco featuring female impersonators during the second half of the last century.

As usual, click on the image to magnify it.

two tall additions

Jayne e-mailed me with two additions to our Famous Females of Height list:

Marti Caine, a UK actress and entertainer, whose height rounds up to 5' 8".

Melina Kanakaredes (right), a US actress, who appears on CSI:NY and is 5' 9" tall.

femulate elsewhere

A new list titled "Femulate Elsewhere" appears in the left sidebar of this blog. It is an attempt to list links to other blogs, forums, Web sites, etc., where this blog or this blogger has been mentioned recently.

I depend on Google Alerts for the mentions. Although Google Alerts is very good, it is not perfect and may miss something. So, if you are aware of a Femulate mention elsewhere that is not on the list, let me know about it so I can add it.

womanless pageant par excellence redux

Last week, I blogged about the Haleyville, Alabama high school 2007-2008 "Senior's Cutest" womanless pageant.

Today, I found a set of photos from another Haleyville "Senior's Cutest" womanless pageant.

This set of photos is not dated, but I assume it predates the 2007-2008 set because there are no links to this set on the Haleyville (Alabama) City Schools Web site. My guess is that when their Webmaster posted the 2007-2008 set of photos, he/she did not delete the older set of photos. His/her omission is our gain.

In my humble opinion, this newfound crop of "girls" is not as good as the 2007-2008 crop, but there are some cuties in this bunch and all the photos are worth viewing.

why can't a transwoman be played by a man?

I read here that actresses will play transwomen in an upcoming film titled K-11. Not long ago, I read that Nicole Kidman will play a transwoman in another upcoming film titled The Danish Girl.

This is a pet peeve of mine and I have complained about this before, so here I go again: Why does the movie industry prefer to cast women in the roles of transwomen?

Ideally, transwomen should play transwomen, but since there is a dearth of transwomen film actresses, the next best choice is to have male actors playing transwomen. Women playing transwomen should be the last choice.

Males playing transwomen are more realistic than females playing transwomen. Compare the average transwoman to the average female film actress and there is a noticeable discrepancy. On the other hand, compare the average transwoman to the average male film actor and the discrepancy is not so much.

Sure, Nicole Kidman is tall, but except for height, how many transwomen resemble Ms. Kidman?

(When I complained about this before, I got Felicity Huffman in Transamerica thrown back at me as an example of a successful portrayal of a transwoman by an actress. I agree that Ms. Huffman was excellent in that role and the audience was able to buy into her being a male-to-female transsexual, but I think that Ms. Huffman's success was an exception.)

In those instances where male actors play transwomen, the males have done a very credible job. I offer two films that in my humble opinion are probably the best examples of males playing transwomen:

Soldier's Girl, a true story in which actor Lee Pace's portrayal of transwoman Calpernia Addams was excellent.

Transfixed, a fictional account about transsexuals in Belgium doing what T-girls have to do in order to get by. Robinson Stévenin (above) leads a cast of males playing transwomen and they all do an excellent job. (This is a foreign film, but it is well worth watching with English sub-titles.)

And so it goes.