Wednesday, October 15, 2014

Jamie's Favorite Photo (of Jamie!)

In response to my open invitation to send me your favorite photo along with the story behind it and the reason it is your favorite, I received a bunch of photos and stories that I will begin posting in the blog today starting with Jamie. My invitation still stands, so don't be shy, send me your photos!

Here is my favorite photo to date. One reason I love this photo was because finding this dress at the thrift store made my heart leap. It is beautiful and most importantly it fit!!

The second reason I love this photo is that it was taken the morning I went to the Boston Pride Parade with some very close awesome friends. This being only the second time Jamie went out into the broad daylight. A much better experience than my first time because this time I carried a pair of ballet flats in my purse to save my feet from 12 hours in heels. A lesson I learned the hard way previously.

--Jamie

 

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Wearing Ann Taylor.

 

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Carolyn (right), a femulator, appeared in a 2007 episode of King of the Hill.

Tuesday, October 14, 2014

A Presidential Library En Femme

By Paula Gaikowski

Paula - Rena - Kris - Air Force One While traveling around the country on business I have started visiting presidential libraries. No matter what your politics are, those libraries are typically beautiful sites that offer a historical walk through a president’s term. Just be prepared for a favorable view of their legacy.

This day’s plan was to visit the Reagan Presidential Library with Kris and Rene.

I got up early as I had a long ride thru LA traffic to get there. Before leaving I stopped at the morning buffet at the hotel. I always wanted to go en femme to one of these breakfasts. How many times while on business I would envy the business women getting ready for their day.

Today I would be one of them. Then a really cool thing happened. When I came in, an older woman who was running the breakfast greeted me with a pleasant “Good morning!” When I left, I bumped into her outside. She smiled again and said, “Hello” and asked, “You are so beautiful --- what kind of makeup do you use?”

First, I was like pinch me? Is this a joke? I smiled back and said “MAC, thank you very much.” Poor woman probably needs glasses.

Two hours thru LA traffic got me to the Library just in time. I recognized Kris from her photo and we both quickly met up with Rene. I was a bit nervous, but thankfully the girls seemed very composed and relaxed. I had visions of Secret Service agents following us around the Library speaking into their wrist bands. And like all of my fears about going out dressed, these too were unfounded. The people in the Library treated us like any other women. The place was busy with busloads of school kids. But as we made our way thru the exhibits nobody paid us any mind. Understandable since both Kris and Rene are cute, and are super passable.

I do regret passing up photo opportunities in the recreated Oval Office and the recreated White House press room. How cool that would have been having photos of myself in those settings!

One of the more enjoyable events was touring Air Force One. As we made our way up the steps of the aircraft, we noticed there was a Library photographer taking souvenir photos. Once done with your tour, the pictures were available for purchase at the finish. Okay --- this was too good to be true --- three transgender women and someone coaxing us for photos!

As we made our way up the jet-way, the photographer prompted us, “Ladies, forward, ladies to the left, perfect!”

As I walked through Air Force One, I was taken back to my days in the Air Force when I saw this airplane on a regular basis. I would always watch in awe as it flew overhead. Now to be walking thru this historical craft as a woman was gratifying and affirming in a come full circle view of my life.

The campus was delightful and we wandered the grounds taking in the picturesque view of the Simi Valley, stopping off in the gift shop and of course taking photos. We chatted with a several people, nobody seemed to take notice anything but three women.

This was my first time out to a museum en femme and also my first time out with a group of transgender women. It was a great way to get out into the world as a woman. Don’t be afraid to go from chrysalis to butterfly, you have nothing to fear. If I can do it you can too!

Our last stop was a visit to Ronald Reagan’s grave. It was a serene and tranquil spot. Politics aside, it made me reflect about Reagan’s amazing journey from Dixon, Illinois, to this very spot. In turn, I too considered my passage of time, in some ways just as amazing when I think back to a time when I thought I’d never experience any part of my life as a woman. Guilt, shame and self-loathing now replaced with positive feminine energy.

As we parted I believe I could hear Ronald spinning in his grave.

 

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Wearing Cameo.

 

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One female (center) and two male high school students participating
in Geschlechtertausch (Gender Swap Day) in Germany, 2014.

Monday, October 13, 2014

Michelle’s Favorite Photo (of Michelle!)

Today’s “Your Favorite Photo (of You!)” features Michelle, the lady whose e-mail inspired me to feature your favorite photos and their stories.

Send me your favorite photo along with its story (long or short). Include why the photo is your favorite and I will publish it here for all of us to see, read and enjoy.

Yes, the best pics do seem to be from when you are doing something you really like, doesn't it? This is my all-time favorite pic, from earlier this year. I was at a meeting of the Art Deco Society of California in the San Francisco Elks Hall. I've been a member of this group for year, and they know me only as Michelle there. All the better, it's sort of candid, although I suppose I am posing a bit nicely crossing my ankles.

But it was taken with someone else's camera and by a non-T at that. And it was just so great being there, everything seemed to be working, hair, makeup, duds, the works. Would that every time out could be so good.

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Source: MyHabit

Wearing Jason Wu.

 

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Members of the Dumont Club femulating in the 1931 Mummer’s Parade in Philadelphia.

Saturday, October 11, 2014

A Week of Mentions

I already mentioned my mention in Joanna's "Musings from my everyday life..." on Wednesday. Her kind words were followed by more mentions on Thursday.

Cyrsti dropped my name a few times in her WassssuP? post on her Transgender Condo blog.

And Calie dedicated Thursday's T-Central to Femulate and recalled my post from 2009 titled "I Am My Own Girlfriend."

I had forgotten that post and had to revisit it. Wow! Those words from five years ago still accurately portray me today!

Thank you all for all the mentions.

 

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Source: Ann Taylor

Wearing Ann Taylor.

 

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Bill femulates in television’s King of the Hill, 1998.

Friday, October 10, 2014

Your Favorite Photo (of You!)

IMG_2846_cropped_web On Wednesday, Femulate featured Michelle's personal favorite photograph of herself along with the story behind the photograph and why it is her favorite.

In response, I received an e-mail from another Michelle which included her favorite photograph along with the story behind her photo. (I will post her photo and story here if I receive her permission to do so.)

A lot of us take a lot of photos of ourselves. I admit it and I do it for a number of reasons including to see how I look in the outfit I am wearing, to document my progress, to remind myself how I look when I am not presenting in my true gender and to feed the blog.

You may have other reasons for being a prolific self-photographer, but whatever the reason, you and I do take a lot of photos. And like both Michelles, you probably have a favorite photo.

So I invite you to send me your favorite photo along with its story (long or short). Include why the photo is your favorite and I will publish it here for all of us to see, read and enjoy.

To keep the ball rolling...

My favorite photo of me is the one above that I self-took after I got dressed to kill to attend my law school class reunion in 2012. I like the photo for a number of reasons: I love the outfit I put together and I don't look bad for a 61-year-old woman.

But also, the photo is my favorite because attending the reunion was probably the most daring thing I ever did. Unlike other outings where I forewarned my friends and acquaintances, I went into the reunion cold. My name was on the guest list, so my classmates knew I would be attending, but they had no idea I would be attending in my true gender.

By the way, as I wrote here back in 2012, "I had a wonderful time to put it mildly!" There was not a discouraging word and if you are interested, you can read about my reunion experience here and here, but don't forget to send me your favorite photo.

 

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Source: Leggs

Wearing Leggs.

 

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Actor Sean Kaufmann femulating in the 2008 film titled Stiff Luv.

Thursday, October 9, 2014

On the Internet

Halloween at work, 2012 "My job is to make men look like women" is an interesting interview with Jodie Lynn, a London makeup artist "who has dedicated her career to helping men reveal the woman within..." Written by Cassie Powney, the piece appears on the Cosmopolitan UK website.

I found the article personally interesting because I have been following some of Jodie's femulation techniques for years. For example, I thought she was channeling me when she talked about wigs and her lip-plumping procedure is exactly the same procedure I use to femulate my lips.

Wednesday morning, I did not need coffee to start me up when I perused my favorite blogs and noticed the title of Joanna's daily post, "Stana of Femulate."

Wow! Joanna was very kind in her description of me and the blog and I only hope I can live up to her kind words.

By the way, the photo Joanna used in her post was me at work on Halloween two years ago. Coincidentally, I have been mulling over whether or not to femulate for work again this Halloween.

I have femulated for work on four occasions. The first two times (in 2000 and 2003), my workplace had something going to celebrate Halloween including a costume contest. The last two times (2012 and 2013), there was nothing going on at work Halloween-wise. I just femulated and had a wonderful time.

Do I do it again? Three years in a row!

It has almost become a Halloween tradition and some of my co-workers expect it. A woman asked me a few weeks ago if I was dressing up for Halloween. I replied that I had not made any plans and her retort was, "Sure you will."

Enough said!

 

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Source: Vogue

Street style during Paris Fashion Week for Spring 2015.

 

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Lori Shannon, also known as Don Seymour Mclean
femulating on television’s All in the Family in 1975.

Wednesday, October 8, 2014

My Favourite Photo (of Me!)

By Michelle

Michelle photo We know our weakness, don’t we? Once we are dressed, someone only has to think about taking a photo and we find ourselves automatically preening our hair and checking our make-up – it’s in our genes!

In previous articles, I have explained how I asked friends if I could show them photos of me dressed - and then warned them that if they said “yes,” they might be there for some time. I like to think I’m under control in this aspect of my hobby, but nonetheless, I don’t think I’ll ever refuse to show photos to anyone who shows the slightest interest – normally following heavy hinting on my part.

Having said all that, I am usually very disappointed at the way I present in photos – usually looking very fed up and if posing, I forget to smile or if I do, it usually looks rather forced.

Like most of us, I have a portfolio of pictures, but I can honestly say that I would only want to show about 10% of them. Which is why when a photo does come out well, I treasure it.

The photo I attach with this article is my all-time favourite, although, as I say, it doesn’t have too many to beat. I like it because it isn’t posed and I’m obviously having a good time. However, as I was performing a karaoke version of a Three Degrees song with two other girls at the time, I’m not sure others in the room were enjoying the moment quite as much!

I know that Stana takes selfies to check her outfit and make-up before going out, and that seems sensible. However, I’m usually in such a hurry that organising myself to take a photo is usually beyond my time management capabilities. As a result, I normally judge the best I can by looking in the mirror – and some mistakes can go unnoticed as I go forth into the outside world.

Looking at this photo, though, I think I got away with it on this occasion. I’m really pleased with my make-up, especially my lipstick which seems to have stayed in the right place, and I think matches my dress well. As it was at Christmas, the bright, shiny red effect is appropriate. The necklace and earrings go well for me and the contrasting tights and watch set it off well. I must have been in a hurry, because I wish I’d have applied some nail varnish, which would have added a little more to the effect.

This is how I like to see myself when I’m out and although I know I don’t usually manage it, it’s fun trying to recreate the look and it’s also good to have a photo to remind me of when I did.

Has anyone else got a favourite picture of herself, which they can “show and tell?”

 

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Source: HauteLook 

 

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“Miss P. R. Morgan” femulating in The Timbertown Follies in The Netherlands, circa 1916.

Tuesday, October 7, 2014

As a Woman

(Updated Below)

The following is a transwoman’s bucket list, that is, things to do in your life as a woman.
Anything to add?

By the way, I have already done some of the things on the list, while others are still on my to-do list and a few, I have no interest in doing, but I included them for those who might have an interest.


  • Dance
  • Come out to everyone
  • Travel by air
  • Permanent body hair removal
  • Go on a date
  • Make-out
  • Compete in a womanless beauty pageant
  • Make love
  • Live full-time 24/7
  • Wear a bikini and look good doing it
  • Be a bride
  • Grow my hair long
  • Go to a hair salon to get a feminine hairdo
  • Pluck my eyebrows
  • Go to the mall
  • Attend a cocktail party
  • Use the ladies' restroom
  • Attend a black-tie event
  • Go out to eat
  • Shop for shoes
  • Go to a casino
  • Go to a movie
  • Drive a car
  • Get castrated
  • Flirt
  • Get a makeover
  • Dress shopping
  • Get a manicure and pedicure
  • Girls' night out with genetic females
  • Speak with a convincing feminine voice
  • Go to Fantasia Fair
  • Go to a concert 
  • Go to a transgender convention
  • Go to church
  • Model in a fashion show
  • Attend female-only/oriented events
  • Perform on stage
  • Go to work 

  • Update:
  • Bra fitting without breast forms
  • Go to a support group meeting
  • Get ears pierced
  • Use public transportation (taxi, bus, rail)
  • By brian1982uk-d7fwemy

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    Source: Light in the Box
    Wearing inpluslady.

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    Actor/comedian Bill Hader (courtesy of Elaine Armen).

    Monday, October 6, 2014

    Adult Interrupted

    Armando Riesco After a rather exhausting week, I sat down in front of the television Friday evening to relax by watching a film. I browse the Dish Network listings and did not find anything familiar that I wanted to watch, so I dug a little deeper into the listings to see if anything caught my eye.

    John Cusack is one of my favorite actors and I found him in a 2013 film titled Adult World. I had never of the film, but the description sounded interesting. Here is the plot description from Wikipedia (annotated by me):

    "Recent college graduate Amy (Emma Roberts) believes she's destined to be a great poet, but instead winds up working at an adult bookstore. She meets one of her favorite poets, Rat Billings (John Cusack), and becomes his protégé."

    So I gave it a go and found it enjoyable and surprised when about 20 or 30 minutes into the film, a transgender woman named Rubia (played by Armando Riesco, photo above) enters the story.

    A few minutes later, the phone rings. Some perps broke into the cars in my sister's neighborhood and she asked me to move her car to a safer place (she can't do it herself because she is hospitalized). So I did her bidding and missed the rest of the film.

    I added Adult World to my Netflix queue in case I don't catch on the Dish again.

     

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    Source: MyHabit

    Wearing Julia Jordan.

     

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    Actor Abe Tsuyoshi femulating in the Japanese television drama Moon Lovers (2010).

    Saturday, October 4, 2014

    Authenticity Soon

    IMG_0780 It is hard to believe that in two weeks, I will be on the road on my way to Cape Cod to live authentically as a female full-time for a week. Past experience has taught me that Fantasia Fair week flies by and I will soon be returning home to live unauthentically as a male full-time for most of the time, so I will try to relish every female moment while I am in Provincetown.

    If you are going to Fantasia Fair, I hope I will meet you there. I will be easy to find. Not because I will be the tallest woman in town (I won't be), but because I will be doing two workshops during the Fair.

    On Tuesday afternoon, my so-called "Femulate Blog Party" will take place at 3 PM at the Boatslip. It will be a gathering of readers, followers and interested parties of the Femulate blog for the purpose of meeting all the femulators in person and to discuss the fine art of femulating.

    Then on Thursday morning, I will join Jan Brown at 10 AM at the Boatslip where we will conduct a workshop called "Things You Can Do When You're All Dressed Up" and share our experiences about getting out into the wide world as females.

    If you miss me at either workshop, I will attend most of the other big events during the week, specifically all the evening events and most, if not all of the weekday Keynote Addresses.

    You will have the advantage over me, that is, you know what I look like, but I am clueless about what most of you look like, so if you see me, please say "Hello."

     

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    Source: MyHabit 

     

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    Actor Edward Everett Horton femulating in his first stage appearance, circa 1900.