"The Queen" and "Dream Boys Revue"

In case you did not read the comments to Sunday's blog posting, the image accompanying that post came from the womanless beauty pageant held in New York City in 1967, which was documented in the 1968 film The Queen.

Snippets of the film are on YouTube and a VHS of the 68-minute documentary is available from various sources including Amazon.

I purchased the VHS when it was released back in 1996 and it probably cost around $20. The Queen VHS is now out of print, not available on DVD, and as a result, I guess it is kind of rare because it now sells for $98.35 new and $44.99 used on Amazon.

Bright Lights Film Journal has a thorough review of The Queen here.

Is it worth it?

It is historically significant on a cultural and personal level, but I don't think I would not pay $45 for it.

When The Queen was released, I saw an ad for it in The Village Voice similar to the image accompanying this post. As a budding femulator, the film was definitely of interest to me. I considered taking the train to New York City just to see it because I knew that it would never be shown in my hometown or thereabouts.

But I feared that if I went to NYC to see it, what would people think. Not that I would tell anybody what I was up to, but I even worried what strangers would think if they saw me entering or exiting the theater where it was playing.

So, I waited almost 30 years to see the film and it was not worth the wait. As I remember, I was not impressed with its quality and content and I never watched it again, but now that I have been writing about it, I may watch it again just to see what I think of it now.

A similar film that I prefer is Dream Boys Revue, a 1985 documentary about 30 female impersonators participating in a beauty pageant competition.The quality and content is much better than The Queen and it is available from Amazon on VHS new and used for $14.95, so it is certainly more affordable.

A personal note regarding Dream Boys Revue:

Early in the film, they introduce each contestant by name and hometown. All the contestants were from big cities with populations of a half-million or more (more or less), except for one contestant, who came from a small city with a population of just over 100,000. Would you believe she came from my hometown?

It's a small world (after all).

on tap

I need some new stuff!

I saw a nice girly dress at Fashion Bug yesterday, but I was in boy mode and did not want to try it on without foundation garments, so I will have to return en femme.

With my upcoming "Staci Does New York City" adventure in mind, I am looking for a big handbag. I saw this one on the Payless Web site that fits the bill (it is big and "edgy," just like me). The local Payless store did not have it in stock, so I will have to try some other stores or order one online.

I received an e-mail over the weekend from Professor Schildroth at Southern Connecticut State University inviting me to do outreach at her two human sexuality classes during the first week of May. That will probably be my next outing en femme and I am looking forward to it; not just being out en femme, but having an opportunity to speak to civilians about being trans.

I don't know for a fact, but I imagine that when a college student taking a human sexuality class learns that a crossdresser is coming in for show and tell, he/she might expect a refugee from The Jerry Springer Show to show up. Hopefully, my presentation leaves them with a more positive impression.

fitting in

As usual, click on the image to magnify it.

how to host a womanless pageant

Feel frustrated trying to find a womanless beauty pageant in which to compete? Then, host your own pageant.

eHow describes how to do it yourself here.

holiday regrets

As usual, click on the image to magnify it!

social networking

During our chat at my support group's banquet last month, my friend Jamie Dailey suggested that I join Facebook.

For the uninitiated, Facebook, according to Wikipedia, "is a free-access social networking website that is operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. Users can join networks organized by city, workplace, school, and region to connect and interact with other people. People can also add friends and send them messages, and update their personal profiles to notify friends about themselves."

I have been avoiding social networking because (1) I thought it might be addictive and (2) if I was correct about (1), I was worried I would be spending even more time on the Internet.

I was correct; after I joined, I spent a lot more time online for about a week. But after that initial week of exploration, my time on Facebook diminished to the point now thatI log on once every day or two and only spend a few minutes catching up.

*Just when I thought I was out... they pull me back in."*

A couple of days ago, I read Chloe Prince’s blog, Pink Thoughts, in which she announced the news about her new Web site, a transgendered social network called PinkEssence. According to Chloe, PinkEssence "has many of the bells and whistles of FaceBook, but without all the clutter of FaceBook."

It sounded interesting, so I joined up.

I am no Facebook expert, but after poking around PinkEssence for awhile, it seems to be a lot like Facebook with a definite transgendered bend. I guess you can call it "Facebook en femme."

For what it's worth, I have spent a lot more time on PinkEssence than Facebook the last few days. It is definitely a cool Web site, so check it out.

* So says Michael Corleone in Godfather III

womanless pageant news

This just in from the Womanless Pageant Hotline...

"Men showed their stuff in drag at the annual Womanless Beauty Pageant April 10 at the Salem (Arkansas) High School Gym."

Read all about it here.

jazzed

I am jazzed* about spending four days en femme in New York City!

My workshop is in the Chelsea section of NYC and I plan to stay at a hotel within a short walking distance of the workshop.

Chelsea seems to be a perfect choice for a T-girl. According to Wikipedia, "Chelsea is a melting pot of cultures. Above 23rd Street, by the Hudson River, the neighborhood is post-industrial, featuring the newly-hip High Line that follows the river all through Chelsea. Eighth Avenue is a center for LGBT-oriented shopping and dining, and from 20th to 22nd street between Ninth and Tenth avenue, mid-nineteenth century brick and brownstone townhouses are still occupied, a few even restored to single family use.

"Since the mid-1990s, Chelsea has become a center of the New York art scene, as art galleries moved there from SoHo."

This is very exciting!

Between now and then, I have to decide what to bring to wear. I figure something casual for the daytime and something dressier for the evenings. Maybe two outfits each that I can mix and match to create eight outfits. Maybe I will even have to buy something new. What a dilemma!!!

I came across an interesting story about another girl's adventures in New York City. I hope my four days in NYC are as half as good as her six days there!

Did I mention how jazzed I am about the prospects of this trip?

* In all my life, I never used the word "jazzed" until now. I think I needed something to kick me out of the winter doldrums and this must be it!

Blake Lively: woman or man?

Thank-you Lauralee for e-mailing me a link to this story about Blake Lively.

I had no idea who is the person named "Blake Lively." Below the story's headline ( Blake Lively Feels 'Like a Tranny'), I see a photo of Blake posing for the cover of Allure. I assumed that Blake Lively was male (Blake is a boy's name, is it not?) and he was dressed en femme. I was very impressed with his fantastic femulation; he looked very hot!

After reading the article, I learned that Blake is female and the poor girl is complaining that she feels like a man.

"I feel like a tranny a lot of the time. I don't know, I'm ... large? They put me in six-inch heels, and I tower over every man. I've got this long hair and lots of clothes and makeup on. I just feel really big a lot of the time, and I'm surrounded by a lot of tiny people. I feel like a man sometimes."

By the way, Mr. Lively's height is 5' 10".

that's showing her!

As usual, click on the image to magnify it.

Manhattan in June

I will attend a four-day workshop in New York City during a weekend in June. The workshop begins mid-morning and ends early in the afternoon, so I am free to experience The City the rest of the day.

Most importantly, I intend to spend the four days en femme. I will take the train to NYC and check into my hotel in boy mode, then I will become Staci Lana for four days.

In October, I spent a week en femme 24/7 in Provincetown attending Fantasia Fair, but even though I had a great time, Provincetown during Fantasia Fair is really just another extension of The Closet. Admittedly, it is a big extension, but it is still a closet; everyone in town knows who you are and they treat you with kid gloves.

In Manhattan, the gloves come off and I will interact with the public as a woman or as a "tranny" depending on the public's ability to recognize my birth gender and/or my ability to disguise my birth gender. It will be a real life experience.

I am very excited about my long weekend en femme 24/7 in Manhattan; it should be a very interesting four days.

he's not hip

As usual, click on the image to magnify it.

300,000 hits

Overnight, the hit counter for this blog passed 300,000.

It took 16 months to hit 100,000, six months for the next 100,000, and just over three months for the last 100,000.

I am not sure that I am so deserving, but I am very honored and thank you for visiting!

priceless

As usual, click on the image to magnify it.

the fake lashes and the First Lady

In the past, I have worn fake eyelashes, usually for dress-up affairs like banquets and weddings, or when I model in fashion shows. Even though my natural eyelashes are long and lush, the fakes make an obvious difference and I would wear them more often if I was more adept at putting them on.

I estimate that half the time I try to wear fake eyelashes, I abandon the effort because I have trouble putting them on, keeping them on, or making up my eyes after putting them on. Too much glue and/or too little glue is the usually the culprit.

Practice makes perfect and I will keep trying, while referring often to this video on how to do it.

Meanwhile, some folks are on our First Lady's case because she wore obviously fake eyelashes during her visit to 10 Downing Street in London last week.

I thought she looked great and if you are interested, go here to see how she looked and to participate in the poll regarding her look.

"she" can't miss

As usual, click on the image to magnify it.

recommended reading

I highly recommend reading Donna's recent blog posting titled The Cost of Doing Business.

She is a very brave trans-woman!

I so identify with what she has done. It's what I want to do, but not until the state or fed passes some transgender anti-discrimination legislation.

vintage clothes

While driving to work this morning, I'm listening to tunes on my iPod in "shuffle" mode, which means the iPod randomly picks songs to play from 8,786 songs I have stored on it. So, I never know what it will play next and sometimes it is something "new" to my ears, for example, an obscure song that was uploaded along with other songs on a CD or an old LP that I digitized.

So on comes a song I don't recognize. The singer sounds like Paul McCartney, which surprises me because I am a BIG Beatles fan and I thought I was familiar with all the Beatles' group and solo works. I glance at the iPod and it is McCartney singing Vintage Clothes from the Memory Almost Full album.

The second verse of the song caught my attention.

We jump up for joy
Who cares if we look like a girl or boy
What we are, is what we are and what we wear
Is vintage clothes, vintage clothes

Alright, Paul!

Ever since the "sweet Loretta Martin" bit in Get Back, I always thought Paul had a soft spot in his heart for transgenders.

crossdressed in the past

Out en femme in the late 1920's. (I love the outfit the girl on the right is wearing.)

As usual, click on the image to magnify it.

activists push for transgender protections

HARTFORD, Conn. - Transgendered Connecticut residents and supporters say they are not giving up their fight for specific protections in state laws.

A bill to protect transgendered people from discrimination died in a legislative committee last week. Activists gathered Tuesday at the Capitol to keep pushing for the measure, asking lawmakers to add it as an amendment to other legislation.

Read the rest of the story here.