Independence Day Redux

(A New Yorker cartoon parody.)

"...glorious miracles and creations of our Lord."

Being transgender in Samoa is a very good thing.

Read all about what the prime minister of Samoa describes as the "glorious miracles and creations of our Lord" here. (Thank you, Jo, for the story)

A related story, "Fa'afafine - Samoan boys brought up as girls," describes Hazy Pau Talauati (photo above), "a Samoan man who dresses and lives as a woman. She is a fa'afafine. Like most fa'afafine in Samoa - and there are a few in most villages - Hazy is an accepted member of the community, valued for the work she does."

UPDATE: Here is the website of S.O.F.I.A.S. - Sosaiete O Fa'afaine i Amerika Samoa, which translates to "Society of Fa'afaine in American Somoa."

I'm moving to Samoa!

Bad Timing, Girl

(A New Yorker cartoon parody.)

Happy Independence Day

When Boys Get Into Girls' Stuff

The following demonstrate what happens when boys get into girls' stuff. [Thank you Aunty Marlena (AM) and Miss Google (MG) for the links!]

• Covington County, Alabama - MG

• Redfield, Arkansas: 1, 2 - AM

• Chester, Connecticut - MG

• Thomson County, Georgia - MG

• Hattiesburg, Mississippi - AM

• Auburn, New York - AM

• Nash County, North Carolina (photo right) - AM

• Rocky Mount, North Carolina - MG

• Wake County, North Carolina - AM - MG

• Union, South Carolina - MG

• Crossville, Tennessee - MG

• Livingston, Tennessee - AM

• Brookeland, Texas - MG

• Galena Park, Texas - MG

• Houston, Texas - AM

• Larue, Texas - AM

• Milwaukee, Wisconsin - AM

Everywhere

I took a break from the great outdoors and went indoors to eat pizza. The television was showing a 1996 Whoopi Goldberg film, The Associate.

I was half-watching the film until Whoopi sought out some fashion advice from a friend, who worked at a nightclub that looked suspiciously like a drag club. Sure enough, her friend was a drag performer. I did not recognize the dragster at the time and just looked him up on IMDB.

Turns out the drag performer was Kenny Kerr of Las Vegas fame. The scene I saw him in was about a half minute long. I don't know if he appeared in the film again because I went back outdoors after eating pizza.

These days, a day does not go by without a close encounter of the trans kind. We're everywhere!

She Loves Shoes

Wednesday, I brought two pairs of shoes with me for my day out en femme. My recent acquisition (five-inch heels) from Shoedazzle and a pair of medium two-inch heel pumps that I bought at Payless (can't remember when). I was leery about driving my manual transmission Subaru in five-inch heels, so I switched to the medium heels when I drove and whenever I knew I would be walking any great distance like all around the town of Stonington.

I cannot remember the last time I wore the medium heel pumps, so I assumed they would be more comfortable than the five-inch heels. Wrong! They were equally comfortable/uncomfortable.

About an hour into the CABO meet-and-greet Wednesday evening, my feet hurt so badly that I took off my heels and went barefoot.

One of the women at the meet-and-greet noticed that I was carrying my five-inch heels instead of wearing them and we began discussing shoes. Since she wears women's shoes more often than I do, I was anxious to hear her take on the topic.

She agreed with me that it is difficult to predict which shoes will be comfortable and which will not. The most comfortable shoes I ever owned had a four-inch stiletto heel; I could wear them all day with nary a whimper from my feet, but one would assume that with a four-inch stiletto heel, they would not be comfortable.

She revealed to me that flats are just as bad as heels. Some are comfortable, some are not. For a long time, I assumed flats would be more comfortable than heels even though my personal experience with flats indicated otherwise.

She also agreed with me that those pricey silicon inserts that are intended to make your shoes more comfortable do nothing comfort-wise.

As she was admiring my shoes, I told her that I bought them from Shoedazzle. Her eyes lighted up and she told me that she was familiar with Shoedazzle, but was reluctant to join because she did not know anyone who had first-hand experience with that shoe-of-the-month club. My positive experience may move her to join, so I sent her an invitation to sign-up. If she joins, I get points and when I get enough points, I get a free pair of shoes (just what I need!).

Stana in Stonington and Beyond

Out en femme yesterday with my friend Diana, she drove us to the shore where we met three other friends to dine at Skipper's Dock in Stonington, which juts out into Stonington Harbor off Fishers Island Sound.

The weather was perfect and we ate outdoors on the dock. (That is the restaurant on the dock behind me in the photo in my previous post.)

After eating, three of us walked around the picturesque town window-shopping, photographing, touring (Old Lighthouse Museum) and desserting on ice cream. The photo accompanying this post is me standing by the town docks trying to pick up sailors (the last phrase of that sentence is my attempt at humor --- hahaha).

A cool antique shop with jewelry in its window attracted my attention. I went inside and I asked the friendly proprietor if she had any clip-on earrings for sale. She brought out two displays of clip-ons and I purchased a gold art deco pair that "called my name."

The proprietor also educated me about foam clip-on earring cushions. I bought a bag of cushions and she slipped a pair on my purchase, which I wore the rest of the day without any slippage, pinching, and the best part, no after-marks.

Late in the afternoon, we drove back to Diana's home where we freshened-up. Then we headed out to a meet-and-greet of the Connecticut Alliance for Business Opportunities (CABO), an LGBT chamber of commerce.

I had already met some of the attendees at the Transgender Health and Law Conference two months ago, but most of the two dozen were new faces. I met and chatted with the majority of them.

Diana and I were the only trans people there and we were representing the Connecticut Transadvocacy Coalition (CTAC). Actually, Diana was more representative than me, as she is a veteran transgender activist, whereas I am a volunteer doing what I can to help the cause.

By 7:30 PM, we were both tired from a long day and parted ways.

Stana by the Sea

June 29, 2011, Stonington, Conn.

Crossdressing Comic Book Story, Circa 1970

I am trying to track down a comic book that contained a story with a crossdressing theme.

The copy I had did not have a cover, so I don't know its title. It was published in the late 1960s or early 1970s. My copy was lost in the great purge of 1983. I'd like to find a copy, but without a title, the search is difficult; if you can help me out, I'd appreciate it.

The comic book had two stories. Unlike most comic books in which one story follows another consecutively, this book had two stories printed throughout the book concurrently with one story printed on the top half of the page and the second story printed on the bottom half of the page (the story I am interested in was the story on the top half of the page.)

This comic book included sex and nudity, so it was not likely found on the newsstand next to Archie, Superman and Little Audrey. I assume it was sold in porn shops.

The plot of the story (as I remember it) involves a gay spy named Jamie. Out and about one day, Jamie goes to a hair salon for a wash and set. While he is under the hair dryer, the salon proprietor begins feminization hypnosis.

After undergoing hypnosis, Jamie admits to being "a perfect size 12." Next scene, finds him dressed as a female with all the female salon operators gushing over "her." Jamie exclaims that he feels "fabulous!"

When Jamie returns to spy headquarters decked out in a short red dress, high heels, and full make-up, his superiors are not amused. But they have a solution: let some females have their way with him and that will switch him from a gay crossdresser to a heterosexual non-crossdresser.

Their plan works and the hetero Jamie seeks out whoever was responsible for feminizing him. Turns out his mother, who heads up another group of spies, was behind his feminization.

Sound familiar? Let me know.

Out

I am going to spend the day en femme on Wednesday.

For sure, I am going to the shore to dine with friends at a seafood restaurant. And I will be doing other stuff that has yet to be definitely determined.

Needless to say, I am looking forward to tomorrow.

The Groom Wore Satin and Lace

Surfing the Web, I found this story, an oldie, but a goodie, about a 1984 role reversal wedding in the United Kingdom.  

According to Syndication International,  "The wife wore the trousers yesterday at the weirdest wedding of the year. The 'blushing bride' in white satin and lace, was a MAN, and so were his pretty bridesmaids.

"The black-suited 'groom' was a WOMAN... and it was all legal. For transvestite Bruce Laker won his battle to wed live-in lover Vanda Young in Britain's first gender-bender marriage ceremony.

"Bruce wore tights with a garter and carried a posy of roses and orchids.

"The bizarre wedding took place at Newport on the Isle of Wight. Bruce, 30, and hairdresser Vanda, 34 wore just what they pleased, though the Registrar General frowned on the bad-taste marriage.

"Bruce's mother was philosophical about the whole thing. She said: 'Let's face it. I've not lost son - I've gained two daughters-in-law.'"

Six Years Later

In a follow-up story, six years later, the "marriage that would never last" was still going strong, according to the Weekly World News.

"..it's Vanda who dons the trousers each morning as she trots off to work in a styling salon."

"And it's her gender-bending Bruce who ties a frilly apron over his housemaid's dress and spends the day tidying up their little love next on England's Isle of Wight."

Neither story disclosed what "battle" Bruce won in order to wear white at his wedding. The earlier article infers that it was a legal battle, but I don’t know for sure.

The photo is from the Weekly World News article. I take exception to the caption, "World's ugliest bridesmaids." In my opinion, the bridesmaid to Bruce’s immediate left is a knock-out.

Twelve Years Later

The couple turns up again 12 years later in the 1997 book Male Femaling by Richard Elkins.

"Phaedra Kelly is the alternate personality of Bruce Laker. She is a 42-year-old married writer and transgender activist who lives with her wife and step-daughter on the Isle of Wight in a home which doubles as The Museum of International Gender Identity. From the same address she directs the International Gender Transient Affinity, the first working world-wide transgender human rights organization."

You can read the entire excerpt from Male Femaling here. And Zagria has some additional information about Phaedra on her A Gender Variance Who's Who blog.

I could not find anything newer about this ground-breaking marriage. Are Phaedra and Vanda celebrating their 27th wedding anniversary this year? I hope so.

A Little Behind

I got a little behind. (Nothing that some padding couldn't fix.)

Seriously, I got a little behind in my correspondence this past month. I assure you that I read every e-mail I received, but due to the weather, I have not had the time to respond to each one.

Let me explain.

We had no real spring to speak of in these parts. It seems that most of the spring was an extension of this year's winter.

When spring-like weather finally arrived, I had a lot of catching up to do, including cleaning, planting, and replacing the gutters Old Man Winter tore down in February.

As a result, I was working outside until dusk almost every night for the past three weeks. Each night, I would just crash after working outside for two to three hours (after working all day at the salt-mine for eight to nine hours).

Meanwhile, the unacknowledged e-mails piled up.

I finally had some time today to catch up. When I examined my e-mail in-box today, I was surprised that some of the unacknowledged e-mails went back to the New Year!

I tried to acknowledge all the unacknowledged e-mails. If I missed yours, I apologize. And I promise to do better in the future,

Lashes -- Gone to Extremes

Beauty and style expert, Paul Venoit, writes in The Huffington Post about the latest fashion in the beauty world, i.e., "the need for luscious, long lashes."

In his "Lashes -- Going to Extremes," Venoit describes the history of eyelash fashjion and the potential dangers of using lash growth products (like Latisse).

Last June, I wrote here about how at my "last makeover, the makeover artist mentioned that my eyelashes are blond and thin. She suggested that I try an eyelash growth stimulator to add some heft to my lashes."

Shortly thereafter, Avon introduced "an eyelash growth serum in their product line. Since I am an Avon rep, the rep discount price for the product was very attractive, so I ordered a tube."

I began using the serum religiously applying it in the morning and evening, as recommended. After two weeks, I was not thrilled with the results, but into week three and beyond, I began noticing a difference. By week five, there was a big difference.

After two or three months, my eyelashes were spectacular. Not so much without mascara (since my lashes are blond), but with mascara --- wow, what a difference. Even after I cut back to applying the serum once a day instead of twice, I still noticed improvement.

Moreover, there were no side effects, so I was a very happy girl.

In October, I had an eye exam and my eye doctor tested me for glaucoma. Turns out that I do have the early stages of glaucoma and the doctor prescribed eye drops to manage the problem.

I began using the eye drops religiously applying them every evening, as recommended.

My doctor listed the eye drops possible side effects. Bloodshot eyes was one side effect that I began to experience almost immediately; most mornings, my eyes are bloodshot, some days worse than others and some days, not at all.

Another potential side effect he listed was eyelash growth. The Avon serum was already doing that and I did not believe that my eyelashes could get any better, but a few weeks after I began using the glaucoma medication, I noticed even more improvement. My lower lashes were getting better, too!

I assume that the Avon serum is a watered-down version of some glaucoma medication. So it makes sense that since I began using a full-strength glaucoma med, my eyelashes have responded accordingly.

I still recommend the Avon serum for those of you lucky enough to not have glaucoma. It made a big difference for me, but everyone is different and your mileage may vary.

Victorious Femulation

Victorious is a situation comedy on Nickelodeon. Its cast includes Avan Jogia (above left) and Victoria Justice (above right). In an upcoming episode, Avan's character falls in love with Victoria's and lands a role as a double. By the way, Avan is a male.

You can see more photos here and here.

And thank you, Cheryl, for alerting me to this!

Famous Females of Height Revision

I am in the process of revising the Famous Females of Height List.

In addition to adding yesterday's new additions to the list, I changed its format. Before, all the females of the same height were listed in one unwieldy paragraph. Now, each female appears on a separate line.

I am also adding a very brief biography to each female in the list (this will take some time to complete).

Finally, where applicable, I am adding a note about any transgender connection to the listed female.

Check it out.

Tallest List Yet

To date, this is the longest/tallest update to our Famous Females of Height List due mainly to SoCalSecrets' alert to me about another list, Actresses over/Heigth [sic] of : 5'9'' / (1,75m) on the IMDB website.

The entries ending with an asterisk (*) are from that list; the rest are from me.

5'9" – Jaimie Alexander – actress – film, Thor*

5'9" – Mini Anden – actress – film, The Mechanic*

5'9" – Moran Atias – actress – film, The Next Three Days*

5'9" – Bianca Balti – actress – film, Go Go Tales*

5'9" – Rachel Boston – actress – film, (500) Days of Summer*

5'9" – Sarah Wayne Callies - actress - television, The Walking Dead*

5'9" – Mary Carey – actress – film, Pervert!*

5'9" – Barbara Carrera – actress – film, Never Say Never Again*

5'9" – Tina Casciani – actress – film, Role Models*

5'9" – Gemma Chan – actress – film, Exam*

5'9" – Alicia Coppola – actress – television, Another World*

5'9" – Wendy Crewson – actress – film, Air Force One*

5'9" – Caroline D'Amore – actress – film, Frat Party*

5'9" – Caroline de Souza Correa – actress – film, The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift*

5'9" – Catherine Dent – actress – television, One Life to Live*

5'9" – Alison Doody – actress – film, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade*

5'9" – Carly Foulkes – model – T-Mobile TV commercials (see photo)

5'9" – Tomiko Fraser – actress – film, Monster-in-Law*

5'9" – Gal Gadot – actress – film, Fast & Furious*

5'9" – Maggie Grace – actress – film, Taken*

5'9" – Courtney Hansen – actress – film, Rides*

5'9" – Erinn Hayes – actress – television, Behind the Camera: The Unauthorized Story of 'Mork & Mindy'*

5'9" – Courtney Henggeler – actress – film, Friends with Benefits*

5'9" – Alaina Huffman – actress – film, Dog Lover's Symphony*

5'9" – Rosie Huntington-Whiteley – actress – film, Transformers: Dark Of The Moon

5'9" – Iman – model*

5'9" – Candace Kroslak – actress – film, Planet of the Apes*

5'9" – Sanoe Lake – actress – film, Blue Crush*

5'9" – Shannon Lee – actress – film, Blade*

5'9" – Laura Mennell – actress – film, Watchmen*

5'9" – Maria Menounos – actress – film, Tropic Thunder*

5'9" – Elizabeth Mitchell – actress – film, Gia*

5'9" – Samantha Noble – actress – film, See No Evil*

5'9" – Jessica Paré – actress – film, Hot Tub Time Machine

5'9" – Tanit Phoenix – actress – film, Lord of War*

5'9" – Franka Potente – actress – film, Run Lola Run*

5'9" – Rachel Roberts – actress – film, S1m0ne*

5'9" – Emily Robison – actress – film, Shut Up & Sing*

5'9" – Lela Rochon – actress – film, Any Given Sunday*

5'9" – Tami Roman – actress – film, MacArthur Park*

5'9" – Anushka Sharma – actress – film, Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi*

5'9" – Amber Smith – actress – film, American Beauty*

5'9" – Brooke Smith – actress – film, The Silence of the Lambs*

5'9" – Nancy Stafford – actress – film, Deadly Invasion: The Killer Bee Nightmare*

5'9" – Rachael Stirling – actress – film, The Young Victoria*

5'9" – Candace Swanepoel – model – Victoria's Secret

5'9" – Tamara Tunie – actress – film, Wall Street*

5'9" – Hanna Verboom – actress – film, Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo*

5'9" – Estella Warren – actress – film, Planet of the Apes*

5'9" – Torrie Wilson – actress – film, WWE Divas: Undressed*

5'9" – Arianne Zucker – actress – television, Days Of Our Lives*

5'10" – Alessandra Ambrosio – model – Victoria's Secret*

5'10" – Moon Bloodgood – actress – film, Terminator Salvation*

5'10" – Wendy Braun – actress – film, Spanglish*

5'10" – Robbi Chong – actress – film, Shelter*

5'10" – Kelly Crean – actress – film, Bratz*

5'10" – Hope Dworaczyk – actress – film, Pepperoni Profit*

5'10" – Tamsin Egerton – actress – film, Keeping Mum*

5'10" – Lindsay Frost – actress – film, The Ring*

5'10" – Beau Garrett – actress – film, TRON: Legacy*

5'10" – Thea Gill – actress – film, Homecoming*

5'10" – Kali Hawk – actress – film, Bridesmaids*

5'10" – Natasha Henstridge – actress – film, Ghosts of Mars*

5'10" – Sonam Kapoor – actress – film, Saawariya*

5'10" – Noémie Lenoir – actress – film, Rush Hour 3

5'10" – Adriana Lima – actress – film, The Victoria's Secret Fashion Show*

5'10" – Jennifer Missoni – actress – film, Claustrophobic Happiness*

5'10" – Kimberly Page – actress – film, The 40 Year Old Virgin*

5'10" – NiCole Robinson – actress – film, Bad Boy*

5'10" – Shilpa Shetty – actress – film, Dhadkan*

5'10" –Jennifer Schwalbach Smith – actress – film, Zack and Miri Make a Porno*

5'10" –Liz Sheridan – actress – television, Santa Barbara*

5'10" –Sonya Smith – actress – film, Cyxork 7*

5'10" –Talisa Soto – actress – film, Licence to Kill*

5'10" – Marsha Thomason – actress – film, Black Knight*

5'10" – Amelia Vega – actress – film, The Lost City*

5'10" – Erin Wasson - model

5'10" – Elizabeth Whitmere – actress – film, The Last Hit Man*

5'11" – CariDee English – actress – television, Scarred*

5'11" – Shandi Finnessey – actress – film, Beauty Queens Gone Wrong: 15 Shocking Pageant Scandals*

5'11" – Jeanene Fox – actress – film, Big Momma's House 2*

5'11" – Nona Gaye – actress – film, Crash*

5'11" – Shalom Harlow – actress – film, Vanilla Sky*

5'11" – Marija Karan – actress – film, The Rite*

5'11" – Lena Olin – actress – film, The Ninth Gate*

5'11" – Sydney Tamiia Poitier – actress – film, Death Proof*

5'11" – Kim Rhodes – actress – television, Another World*

5'11" – Veronica Webb – actress – film, Zoolander*

5'11" – Daria Werbowy – model and spokesperson

6'0" – Ana Beatriz Barros – model , Sports Illustrated*

6'0" – Veruschka von Lehndorff – actress – film, Casino Royale*

6'0" – Tracy Tweed– actress – film, Johnny Mnemonic*

6'1" – Adriana Karembeu – model and actress – film, The Hidden Side of the Bottom*

6'1" – Janet McTeer – actress – film, Tideland*

6'2" – Jennifer Wilson – actress – film, Belly Full of Turkey*

Kinks

I am still working out the kinks in the video version of our Femulate Her feature, so please bear with me.

As I mentioned in a comment yesterday, you need the free Adobe Flash Player installed in your web browser in order to properly view the video. (You can get Flash Player here.)

Also, I successfully tested the video playback with three different browsers (Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari) on two different platforms (Windows XP, Mac OS X), so if yours is one of those and the video still stinks, the problem may be at your end. I suggest updating your web browser if it is not current.

Speaking of kinks, I was a big fan of the British Invasion (the rock 'n' roll version, not the Revolutionary War version) and The Kinks were one of my favorite groups from that era. I had all their records, but when they came out with "Lola," I was embarrassed.

Every time that song played while I was in the presence of anyone who potentially had an inkling about my interest in crossdressing, I was sure that the other person must be thinking about me dressing up.

A lot of water has gone under the bridge since then, but I still react the same way to that tune.

Go figure!

By the way, in the "you learn something new everyday" department, I always thought that Marilyn Monroe was the model for the May 1965 Esquire magazine cover shot (see above). Turns out that it was not Miss Monroe, but rather Italian actress Virna Lisi.

The "Femulate Her:" Video Experiment

If you have been viewing this blog lately, you may have noticed the video versions of Femulate Her: appearing here in the main section of the blog, i.e., the center column.

After experimenting with this feature for the past few days, I finally managed to get the video to appear in the Femulate Her: sidebar, too, and that is where it will appear in the future.

I hope you enjoy this new feature!

Femulate Her:

Video source: Byron Lars