Dear Stana: Differentiate "femulate" and "crossdress"

Dear Stana,

I'm very curious at the the distinction between "femulate" and "crossdress" or any other permutation of gender dysphoria.

Miss Gina

Hi Gina,

When I started my blog back in February 2007, I needed a name for it and created the word "femulate" out of thin air. I defined "femulate" as "to imitate, copy, or try to be like a female."

"Femulate" fine tunes the term "crossdress." Whereas "crossdress" refers to anyone who dons clothing not normally associated with their birth gender, "femulate" refers to those of us who go out in public and make a great effort to look, move, speak, and act as a female, with the ultimate goal of passing or at least being tolerated because we are trying our best to emulate females, not be female characatures.

Best Wishes,

Stana

Need advice concerning femulation, then e-mail me and I will happily give you my opinion on the matter. My e-mail address is stana-stana at sbcglobal.net.

Femulate on the Net Today

New Femulate-related items on the Internet this morning:

A first person account, "Goodbye Husband, Hello Wife," in the Boston Globe, written by a woman whose marriage survived her husband's transition.

Experience Project recounts, "I want to femulate you or be femulated" stories.

The trailer for the new German "Tootsie" film, Rubbeldiekatz, submitted by Anonymous (screen capture above).

Dancing Femulators

This video features three femulators from the Fusion Dance Company performing Single Ladies at the Northwestern University Drag Show in 2009. IMHO, they are excellent.

Sky Full of Holes

Just downloaded Fountains of Wayne's new album Sky Full of Holes from eMusic and I'm groovin' to the tunes, man!

Mad Femulation

I began reading Mad in 1960; issue number 55 to be exact. I quickly became a "Mad Addict" and received an education from "The Usual Gang of Idiots" that produced the magazine.

Once in a great while, Mad contained a transgender reference (their earliest transgender references actually predated the invention of the word "transgender" --- Hoo-Hah!).

As a budding boy/girl back then, I noticed every trans reference that appeared in my favorite magazine and filed each one away in the back of my mind.

For your amusement, I will dredge up these instances from my memory and present them here on occasion. This is the first occasion.

This week, "Spy Vs. Spy" by Antonio Prohias celebrated its 50th anniversary appearing in Mad magazine, so it is appropriate that our Mad Femulation is an early "Spy Vs. Spy" from April 1961, Mad issue #62 ("Spy Vs. Spy" debuted in issue #60).

(Click on the image for a bigger laugh!)

Christopher Morley Writes

In May 2008, I wrote about actor Christopher Morley, "who femulated in films, television shows, and even the pages of Playboy during the last half of the last century. Morley passed and definitely was not a guy in a dress like some of the femulators you see in films and on television. He was thin, pretty, and had one of the best femulated voices I have ever heard."

In a follow-up blog post, we wondered what had become of Christopher Morley. I researched the matter and could not find anything recent; Morley's last known appearance (according to IMDB) was on an episode of the TV series Roseanne in December 1995."

On Tuesday, out of the blue, I received an e-mail from Christopher Morley!

He wrote how he had never heard of the expression "femulate" before and that he loved it adding that femulate was "so much more accurate than 'female impersonator,'" which he never cared for and "drag queen," which he loathed.

He also e-mailed me his publicity photo (above) from the 1980s when he was a celebrity illusionist at the at the La Cage aux Follies supper club in Los Angeles.

Needless to say, I was flabbergasted to receive an e-mail from a celebrity, especially one who inspired me to femulate and actualize the woman I am today.

Man Becomes Woman Photo Shoot

Sissy e-mailed me about a website featuring "incredible makeovers and photo shoots."

I clicked over to the link that Sissy sent and found a webpage displaying a slideshow of photos of gorgeous women. The language on the page was Dutch, so I was clueless and my first thought was that the page was featuring female makeovers.

But as I viewed the slideshow, I noticed some of the slides included small monochrome photos of males labeled "Voor:" Did "voor" mean "before" as in "before and after"?

Then I noticed a British flag icon; clicking on it translated the page into English and, voila!, it revealed I was viewing the "Man becomes woman photo shoot."

Wow! I've seen similar websites before, but this was one of the better ones. The makeup artist and photographer do an excellent job.

Only two problems: their studio, Holland Fotostudio, is in The Netherlands (in a suburb of Rotterdam) and their basic makeover and photo shoot costs $566 (in US dollars). Wow!

But, it does not cost anything to look, so here is the link to the website.

Makeup Mistakes That Can Drag You Down

"Pay attention, ladies. Makeup is supposed to help your appearance, not ruin it! Even celebrities are guilty of goofing this up. From obvious concealer (listening, Demi Lovato?) and clumpy lashes, to overplucked brows and goopy lipgloss, find out how to fix 10 common makeup mistakes."

I dunno about you, but I have made some of these mistakes and maybe you have done so, too Read all about what to avoid here on DailyMakeover.

I'm Hurting

I fell to my knees when I stepped into a pothole back in April. One knee was bloodied, bruised, and hurt climbing stairs for weeks afterwords, but it has finally mended and no longer pains me.

I also stubbed the fourth toe on my left foot during the fall. It did not bother me much until I spent a weekend in June standing on a ladder while hanging gutters at my house. It hurt like heck after standing on the ladder and it has been bothering me off and on ever since.

I can go days without it bothering me, which tricked me into thinking that it was mending. Then I do something that sets it off and I am back to square one.

The "something" that seems to set it off is driving my car, which has a standard transmission. Frequent clutching brings on the pain.

It flared up again Saturday after driving around town running errands half the day, so I finally decided to seek medical advice and will make an appointment today with a doctor.

My toe problem has put the kabosh on wearing high heels and even flats. I have been going barefoot whenever I can and if I have to resort to footwear, I have been wearing sneakers.

And so it goes!

Fa’afafine of Samoa

Earlier this month, I referenced two articles regarding fa’afafine transgenders in Samoa.

Another interesting article on the subject just popped up, this time from EDGE Boston, and I am happy to refer it to you, too.

The EDGE article reiterates some of the points of the previous articles, but also includes a revealing interview with Alex K Su’a, the president of the Samoa Fa’afafine Association.

“Work It” May Not Work

Work It  is a new sitcom from ABC that will appear a "mid-season 2012." Here is the description from ABC:

"This high-concept comedy centers on two unrepentant guy's guys who, unable to find work, dress as women to get jobs as pharmaceutical reps. Not only do they pull it off, but they might just learn to be better men in the process.

"With unemployment an ongoing issue and women now outnumbering men in the workforce, the new comedy series 'Work It' follows two alpha males who realize the only way to beat the current 'mancession' and land a job in pharmaceutical sales is to pass themselves off as women. Combining all the best elements of the workplace comedy, the buddy comedy and the family comedy, Work It centers on Lee Standish (Ben Koldyke) -- a quick-witted and likable family man who used to be a top car salesman until he got laid off -- and Angel Ortiz (Amaury Nolasco) -- a single, hot-headed ladies' man with no filter -- who quickly learn there are fundamental differences in the worlds of men and women that go beyond teetering in high heels and tightening up with Spanx. Lee and Angel are determined to keep their ruse going for as long as they can -- and keep their newly found jobs — in this smart, funny and relevant look at male and female relationships at work, at home and socially. Being a better man sometimes means having to be a better woman."

I dunno.

Looks like another inane sitcom that normally I would never watch, but I will probably watch an episode or two because of the femulation angle.

There are a couple of comments from trans-folks on the ABC Work It website that are highly critical of the show claiming that it is disrespectful to transgenders.

The show has not aired yet, so those comments may be presumptive. but maybe not. We'll see. 

Not So Easy

A New Yorker cartoon parody.

There is a lot of truth in today’s cartoon. It’s not easy being a woman, as explained in this blog post at FashAddix.com.

On the other hand…

“We never said we don’t enjoy being one. In the words of Marilyn Monroe, ‘I don’t mind living in a man’s world as long as I can be a woman in it.’  Easier said than done sister!  But we concur.”

Hiding It

The Wall

This is Max.

See how Max is knocking down the "wall dividing male and female fashions" at The New Male Fashion for the Alternative Man.

Chasing Dwight

Last night, I watched The Guru, a 2002 comedy about a young Indian, "Ramu Gupta," who comes to the US to become a singer and actor. I had never heard of the film before, but it starred some actors that I like (Heather Graham, Marisa Tomei, Michael McKean, Christina Baranski), so I gave it a chance. It exceeded my expectations and I enjoyed it.

Naturally, the first acting job that Ramu gets is in a porn film. While "Peaches," the makeup girl prepares Ramu for his first take, there was a little something in Peaches' voice that caused my trans-radar kick in.

Turns out that Peaches was a trans character. How trans was never clear. She seemed to be full-time. although one of her co-workers revealed to another character that she was a "guy."

Peaches emulation was excellent; the photos accompanying this post do not do her femulation justice. Her looks, mannerisms, and voice were spot-on.

I looked her up on IMDB and found that Dwight Ewell portrayed Peaches.

Now where had I heard that name before? IMDB reminded me that Ewell appeared in one of my favorite Kevin Smith films, Chasing Amy, where he played a comic book artist who, in a memorable monologue, skewers the Star Wars trilogy as being racist.

Ewell also appeared in Stonewall, playing "Helen Wheels." I've never seen that film, so I cannot write about his femulation in that one, but I highly recommend The Guru, where his femulation is top-notch in a film that is entertaining to boot.

Bonding

"gender identity"

This morning, the director of Human Resources IM'd me. She has never IM'd me before, so I was very surprised when her IM popped up on my computer desktop.

She informed me that she had received authorization to add "gender identity" to the company's HR policies, specifically with regards to their discrimination in hiring and anti-harassment policies.

She thanked me for bringing up the matter and I thanked her for doing something about it so soon since Connecticut's gender identity anti-discrimination law does not go into effect until October 1.

Peers' Appearance

Kathryn Bigelow: A Peer

What do celebrities Kirstie Alley, Jane Seymour, Kathryn Bigelow, Lynda Carter, Angelica Huston, Cheryl Ladd, Debra Jo Rupp, Pam Dawber, Karen Allen, Patricia Wettig, Patricia Robinson, and Didi Conn have in common?

They were all born in 1951, so they will all be 60 years old by the end of this year, just like me.

***

Cool cats occasionally scold me that I dress too young. My hair is too long, my skirts too short, my heels too high and my makeup too too for a 60-year-old woman. They whine that I should "dress my age!"

OK --- so how do I dress my age?

I know how my grandmothers dressed when they were in their 60s (back in the 1960s coincidentally), but no one of any age dresses like that today.

Looking around to see how my peers dress does not work because I am bad at guessing peoples' ages, so I am never sure who are my peers age-wise.

So I resorted to the Internet.

I searched "women born 1951" and Google came back with IMDB's list of the "Most Popular People Born in 1951." After checking to see if I made the list (I did not), I checked to see who did.

I culled the females from the top 50 in the list and searched the Internet for any of their photos taken during the past 12 months and I found recent photos of the 12 females mentioned above. (By the way, four of the twelve also appear on my Famous Females of Height List: 5'8" Kirstie Alley, 5'9" Lynda Carter, 5'10" Angelica Huston and 6' Kathryn Bigelow.)

First I looked at the hair. None of the 12 had hairdos shorter than mine. Two wore pageboys similar in length to my wig du jour and ten wore shoulder-length or longer hairdos. Therefore, based on my 12 peers, my hair is too short for a 60-year-old woman!

Next I looked at the shoes. All 12 wore heels of various heights. Hard to be exact, but I estimate that the average heel height was in the 3 to 4 inch range. (Hands down, the tallest female, Kathryn Bigelow, wore the highest heels.) So I conclude that my choice in footwear, that is, heels in the 2 to 5 inch range fit right in with my peers.

To determine how much makeup a person wears, you need a photo of that person without makeup to compare it with a photo of that person with makeup. I had no photos without makeup, so determining how much makeup my peers wear was difficult.

Nearly all of them wear eye makeup, probably no more or less than I do. Nearly all also wear lip color, but here is where I need to make an adjustment. No dark reds if I want my lip coloring to match my peers. A more natural lip color should be my goal.

I knew going in that skirt length might be my downfall and I was correct. Most of the hemlines were in the neighborhood of the knee, either at the knee or slightly above or below the knee. None of the 12 wore a thigh-high hemline like I often find myself wearing.

In conclusion, all I have to do is wear a natural lip color and lower my hemlines, then I will be dressing my age. On the other hand, life is too short, so maybe I will wear whatever I damn well please!

Fall Femulations/Androgynations

This just in from the The New Male Fashion for the Alternative Man blog, Andrej Pejic modeling Apropos womenswear for the fall.

For more, go here.

Through Tallying the Tall

It was a wee bit too warm to walk the full distance during lunch today, so I had some time to finish updating, revising, and annotating the Famous Females of Height List.

If I missed anything, especially regarding the annotations, please let me know.