Teaching an old bra wearer new tricks

I have worn bras for nearly 50 years, yet I still learned something new from this short slide show by Daily Makeover.

Maybe you will learn something new, too.

Femulating at Queer Music Heritage

JD Doyle collects recordings and other stuff related to LGBT music. He has a radio show that features queer music and he has a website where his collection is on display.

His collection is vast (1700 webpages) and it gets vaster every day.

While searching for female impersonation information a few years ago, his website came up in the search engine results and I have been visiting his site regularly ever since.

Being a collector of various stuff, I am in awe of his collecting prowess, particularly in the realm of female impersonation. He has collected a lot of stuff from the professional femulation world and I highly recommend that you visit his site and see it all for yourself; you will be amazed.

Queer Music Heritage is JD Doyle's website and his “Drag Artists & Female Impersonators” collection begins here.

Seven Feet of Courage

If you think it is tough being a 6-foot-tall transwoman, try 7 feet!

The Huffington Post tells the gutsy story of Lindsey Walker (photo right), a 7-footer, who came out as a transsexual despite her height.

Her story is an inspiration for all of us who are afraid to come out and/or go out just because we are tall.

Thank you Reva for alerting me to this Lindsey’s story. Her story also appears in other venues.

He's Everywhere! He's Everywhere!

"He" being femulators. "Everywhere" being back-to-back television shows on Showtime.

I was away from the computer most of the weekend and was trying to catch up with my e-mails last night with the laptop in my lap sitting in front of the telly with the channel selector stuck on Showtime.

Shameless came on at 9. I had never seen the program before, but I like the star of the show, Bill Macy, so I left it on.

A sub-plot involves one of Macy's sons who works in a convenience store owned by a couple from the Middle East. The husband is gay and sneaks his lovers out of the store disguised as Middle Eastern women in long black dresses and head scarves.

Near the end of the episode, the husband disguises himself in the same manner to runaway from his wife and I assume, to live with his gay lover.

House of Lies came on at 10. It is a new show starring Don Cheadle, who I always enjoy watching, so I left it on even though it was past my bedtime.

A sub-plot of the show involves Cheadle's school-aged son who wants to try out for his school's production of Grease.

The big deal is that he wants to try out for the role of Sandy, the role Olivia Newton-John made famous in the film version of the musical. He succeeds in getting the role.

When the school suggests that his son step down and let a female handle the role,  Cheadle defends his son's gender choice. Cheadle also agrees to his son's desire to go shoe shopping over the weekend.

I lasted about 20 minutes into the show and went to bed, so I don't know if anything else transpired trans-wise. I will try to watch the rest of the show when it is replayed later this week.

Happy Monday to you all!

He Throws Like a Girl

Trisha van Cleef: A Heroine of Femulation

Paul Whitehead is a painter and graphic artist known for his surrealistic album covers for artists on the Charisma Records label in the 1970s, such as Genesis and Van der Graaf Generator. (source: Wikipedia)

His alter ego is Trisha van Cleef, who is also a painter with a few CD covers in her portfolio.

Paul is very public about Trisha and as such, is one of my heroes/heroines.

Trisha has a webpage on Paul’s website and Zagria wrote her up on her A Gender Variance Who’s Who website. Read all about her; she is very interesting.

Like it’s 1968

If you have been following along here for awhile, you know that I express myself with graphics as well as with words.

I can create a cartoon or fumetti relatively quickly once I come up with the words or punch-line for a joke. On the other hand, Photoshopped artwork can take hours, but I enjoy doing it, so the time flies by when I do it.

With that introduction, I present a new piece of Photoshop artwork. Titled Stanley Getting Dressed, Circa 1968, it represents the undergarments I was femulating with back in the late 1960s. (The image started out as a vintage bra and/or girdle advertisement that I found on the Internet.)

I hope you like it!

Femulators Party in Japan

Kasumi alerted me about Propaganda Party, a monthly event in Tokyo for femulators from the whole trans spectrum (and others who like them). The party is held in the Kabukicho district of Tokyo on the last Saturday of every month.

Kasumi wrote, “I don't live in Tokyo and so have not had an opportunity to visit in person, but it looks like fun. From the description on the website (all in Japanese, unfortunately), it seems to be designed for fun and socializing---that is, it's for adults only, but there's no nudity or sex or anything like that.”

Their website has a huge collection of photos (the photo gallery link is the blue box at the top center of the screen). The pictures are not sexual in nature---just people having a good time at the party.

Kasumi concluded, “I'm sure you'll agree that the quality of the femulating is extremely high. I'm certainly envious!”

Transphobic Tampon Ad

“A tampon maker has been branded 'outrageously transphobic' over its new advert.

“Critics say the television spot for Libra [brand tampons] implies transgender people 'are not real women because they do not menstruate,’” according to today’s online edition of the Daily Mail, which you can read here.

2011 Blog Statistics

I keep copious statistics concerning this blog. Here they are for the past year:

Hits: 1,872,279 (5,130 per day average)

Unique Visitors: 1,165,521 (3,193 per day average)

First-Time Visitors: 846,120 (2,318 per day average)

Repeat Visitors: 319,399 (875 per day average)

February 24 was the busiest day of the year with 7,168 hits.

August 13 was the slowest day with 3,841 hits.

And so it goes.

Putting Your Closet on a Diet

Do you have items in your wardrobe that you are “saving” because they have sentimental value, are “too pretty to wear,” are timeless, or cost a lot of money? 

I don't know about you, but that pretty much describes moi to a T. As a result, my closets are overflowing and I can use help.

To the rescue, Ginger Burr wrote an excellent post on her blog that proffers three reasons to stop saving your clothes. You can read it here.

Happy New Year!

2011 was a very good year for this femulator; I hope 2012 will be even better.

And I hope that the new year will be even better for you all, too!

Best Wishes,

Stana

My Slip Is Showing

After reading your comments regarding Thursday's A Womanless Cornucopia, I realized that something was amiss.

For example, Tina wrote, "I know some folks that went to the Rocky Mount NC event last summer. They told me that I would have been horrified by the misogyny and transphobia that was on display, all in the name of good humor."

Joan B followed up with "As they are Tina's fears, they are mine. The hair and wig cap on the back of my always stands up when ever I see this kind of jest/humor/mockery? All in good fun and for the benefit of others makes these kinds of events a good thing. Unfortunately some of the guys have to make up for putting on a dress by acting out their perceptions of women, and it is ugly..."

Deborah added, "I did not find these understanding or respectful for transgendered persons. And the males looked awful! No real care was taken in their looks... unlike other womanless pageants down South."

Diane Loring wrote, "...guys in beards, really camping it up for laughs, is degrading and insensitive. It's kind of surprising that a southern Baptist church would sponsor it, unless it's just to make fun of transgendered people. I don't think they recognize gender identity issues. It's really making fun of us who have to deal with our crossdressing or gender identity. All in all, I don't think they help us..."

I took your comments to heart and deleted the links to the noxious ones.

I should have known better.

Unshaven and/or bearded womanless participants is a bad sign.

Womanless participants shaking their rears at the audience is another bad sign.

Participants fondling and squeezing their breasts or another participant's breasts is a very bad sign.

I do know better, but...

On vacation this week, I have been busier than if I had gone to work. As a result, my blogging time suffered.

Thursday night, I was under the gun to post something, so I grabbed a bunch of recently received womanless links and posted them leaving you readers to separate the wheat from the chaffe.

I will not do that again and I apologize to anyone who was offended by the post.

From now on, I will  be very selective regarding womanless posts.

Classy events like the Miss Eng'g pageant will get a pass, but events like a "Dude Looks Like A Lady" pageant at the local (you fill in the blank with a men's social club) will get a very discriminating look.

And so it goes!

A Womanless Cornucopia

Updated Below

Thanks to Aunty Marlena, I present you with a cache of womanless events.

Miss Eng'g 1

Miss Eng'g 2

Womanless Beauty Pageant (unknown location)

UPDATE: I have taken your comments to heart and deleted the links to the noxious ones.

Remembering edrag.com

Considering Work It brought to mind a 1999 episode of another ABC situation comedy, Dharma & Greg.

The title of the episode was "Dharma Drags Edward Out of Retirement" and it involves edrag.com, a company that merchandizes women's fashions for men.

In my humble opinion, this episode of Dharma & Greg handled crossdressing far more respectfully than Work It. It was humorous without throwing transwomen under the bus.

You can view the episode for yourself on YouTube, where it is in divided into three parts (1, 2, and 3).

Gifts

Whether she knew it or not, my daughter gave me some "transgender" Christmas gifts.

She gave me some hoodies and sweaters that are androgynous, if not downright girlie. Also, she gave me a DVD of a film I had on my want list: Song of the South.

I saw that film at age 5 when Disney re-released it in 1956. I never saw it again until last night, but the following scenes of Song of the South left a lasting impression on me for all my life.

Near the middle of the film, the lead character, Johnny, a boy about 8 years in age, must wear an outfit made by his grandmother, who will be visiting later that day. The outfit includes a black (velvet?) jacket with a wide white lace collar, black knickers, white stockings, and black shoes that resemble Mary-Janes, but without the strap.

After reluctantly dressing in the outfit, Johnny goes outdoors to play and encounters the local bullies, brothers named Joe and Jake.

Jake confronts Johnny, "Where'd ya git them funny-lookin' clothes?"

Joe chimes in, "Yeah."

Jake comments, "Lookit that lace collar. Look, Joe."

Joe adds, "What's your name… …li'l girl?"

Jake piles on, "Lookit the little girlie..."

Jake and Joe in unison, "…wearing a lace collar!"

Johnny runs off to escape the wrath of Joe and Jake.

That is the gist of what I remembered from that film for 55 years.

There is something trans-related in that memory, or rather "my memory," but I am not sure what it is.

Maybe it is just one of those little memories in life that only transgenders remember. Or maybe there is more to it.

Go figure.

How'd I Do?

First of the year, I posted my To Do list for 2011. As the year is winding down quickly, it is time to review the list and see how I did.

• Dress en femme more often than not --- This year, I was en femme more than ever before, but not "more often then not."

• Kiss a girl --- No kisses, but lots of hugs.

• Lose ten pounds --- I lost 12 pounds during 2011 (and even better, have kept it off). I think it shows and I am very happy about accomplishing this To Do. 

• Write a book --- I started to write a book, but did not finish it.

• Get rid of my back fat --- Losing 12 pounds and using shapewear that hides back fat has essentially eliminated my back fat.

• Have more nights out with the girls --- I had nights out with the girls in 2011, but probably no "more" than in 2010.

• Get rid of my varicose veins --- Didn't happen; maybe next year.

• Improve my blog --- The blog is a work-in-progress, so I am always tweaking it trying to improve it.

• Find a new hair style --- I bought a new wig in January, which became my go-to coiffure in 2011.

• Attend a transgender conference --- I attended a transgender conference in April.

• Sell Avon en femme --- I made a few Avon sales en femme in 2011 and I attended an Avon sales conference in September.

Overall, I believe that 2011 was a good year for me.

Scarce

With Christmas on the cusp, I will likely be scarce around here for the next few days. Then again, you never know; there may be a break in the festivities and I will do some blogging.

Either way, I would like to wish all my loyal readers a very Merry Christmas; may all your femulations be successful ones.

And be sure to visit Google today and click on ALL the blinking buttons.

Got Womanless Pageants

Two womanless pageants from the Sunshine State grace today's edition of Femulate.

Aunty Marlena sent along this pageant, "Dude Looks Like A Lady: All Male Revue 2011" from Milton High School in Milton, FL, which took place in March (photo right).

Google Alerts found this pageant, the "6th Annual Womanless Beauty Pageant," which was held for charity in St. Augustine, FL, last month.  Additonal photos may be found here.

The former had some good femulations, the latter, not so much, in my humble opinion.

Enjoy!

Holiday Dressing When You're Not Out

If you are not completely out of the closet, dressing for the holidays can be a drag.

Sure you can dress to the nines in your new cocktail dress to attend parties hosted by your fellow transpeople, but attending holiday gatherings hosted by civilians, that is, non-trans family and friends, usually means dressing in boring boy mode.

But dressing like a boy does not have to be humdrum if you are willing to push the envelope. You can feminize your boy look just enough to please your inner girl, while maintaining enough boyishness so that civilians won't question your gender.

Dressing like the fellow pictured to the right would allow you to do just that.

His hairdo is decidedly male, but was highlighted by his hairdresser to femme up his crowning glory. He wears minimum makeup --- just foundation, tinted lip gloss, mascara, eyeliner and eyeshadow, which allows him to look pretty, but still maintain a boyish appearance.

His black crepe romper with the silk satin bow tie hints at his feminine side, but still maintains a semblance of masculinity --- after all, he is wearing pants, not a dress. Jumpers and rompers often have no pockets, so he has a perfect excuse for carrying a man-clutch (he has to store his money, keys, hankies and makeup somewhere).

Mantyhose were optional, but depilation was not; no boy would be caught dead with hairy legs in an outfit like this, so a close shave of his manly gams was in order. To complete the look, flats would be a bust --- a pair of sexy man-heels were a must.

Finally, our fashionable fellow added the colorful necklace to make a feminine statement in case anyone missed the other feminine clues.

This ensemble might be too edgy for some of us. Uncle Billy and Ma Bailey might faint dead away at the sight of a male relative showing up for Christmas Eve dinner in this outfit, but on the other hand, it may be acceptable in more diverse family settings. Your mileage will vary.

If this outfit is too over the top for you, you can push the envelope without breaking it like I did today.

It is the last day of work here before the long weekend shutdown. Many of my co-workers are already taking time off. I estimate that we are about half staffed today, so it is a good day to push the envelope a bit; with fewer co-workers in the building, there are fewer chances for confrontations (not that I expect any, but you never know).

With that in mind, I feminized my look when I dressed for work today.

My underwear consists of black panties, waist cincher, black camisole, and black tights.

Over that, I am wearing my long red tunic sweater that falls to the top of my thighs, black slacks with a side zipper and no pockets, and black patent flats with a silver buckle.

I even wore a little makeup: a light coating of mascara along with my standard pink tinted lip balm.

I considered wearing a bra instead of the camisole, but I thought that C-cups would be too noticeable under the sweater. I also considered wearing a purse, but I had to carry my computer bag, so I was able to store everything I needed in the bag.

I made the rounds through the building twice already and no one has mentioned my outfit, but I feel so womanly that I am glowing.