The Beautiful Lady!

I am in Dayton, Ohio, to attend Hamvention. My dance card is full and I am too busy to write something new, so I am pre-posting something I wrote in the past.

"The Beautiful Lady"

In 2016, I received the Hamvention's Special Achievement Award.

Back at work on Tuesday after Hamvention, a woman in my group who works from home e-mailed me to ask about my vacation. I told her I went to Hamvention and took home an award.

Ten minutes later, she e-mailed me that she had never heard of it, so she looked up the Hamvention website and saw the write-up about the award.

Uh-oh!

If she saw the write-up, she must have seen my en femme photo next to it. But she did not mention the photo, so I assumed she was being polite and did not want to embarrass me.

She is a good friend who I have known for years and I did not want to make her feel uncomfortable, so I e-mailed her back, "I guess the cat is out of the bag."

Her response was vague, so I asked her if she saw my photo.

"No, I didn't see your picture. I saw the photos of the other winners and I was looking for yours, but I did not see it," she replied, "Let me look again."

Fifteen minutes later, she wrote, "OMG!!!!!!!!!!! I couldn’t find you. I was staring at this beautiful lady and didn’t see you! Duh! YOU are the beautiful lady!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !! I was staring at your photo for like 10 minutes… Damn, your presentation is amazing!"

And so it goes!

Wearing L'Agence dress and Attico boots (Source: Intermix)

Miss Garber was way ahead of the curve in Texas in 1996. She "was the only male student to wear make-up to the junior-senior prom," which begs the question: Did other male students attend the prom in drag, but without makeup?

Ham Girl Gallery

I am in Dayton, Ohio, to attend Hamvention. My dance card is full and I am too busy to write, but I may have time to post a photo (or two) from my weekend at the convention.

At my hotel, trying on my new callsign hoodie!

Hamvention Transition

I am in Dayton, Ohio, attending Hamvention. My dance card is full and I am too busy to write something new, so I am pre-posting something I wrote in the past.

Hamvention 2012

As regular readers of Femulate know, I do not present as a woman 24/7, although I would prefer to do so.

During Hamvention last year, a long-time ham radio friend mentioned that my transition appeared to be successful and wondered how my family has reacted to my living as a woman 24/7.

I was surprised by his comment and asked him what gave him the impression that I had transitioned and lived as a woman 24/7.

He was surprised by my reply and stated that "everyone" just assumed that I had transitioned because I was so feminine in every way. No one would think I was a male or had ever been a male!

Wow!

On a similar note, another long-time acquaintance noticed the engagement ring (a fake) that I was wearing at Hamvention. She asked me who was my boyfriend and when did we plan to marry!

And so it goes – it doesn't go much better than that!

Wearing Brahmin

Esme Percy femulates in the 1930 Hitchcock film 📺 Murder!

Now that I am attractive to men there isn't a man I want

I am on the road today somewhere between Connecticut and Dayton, Ohio, on my way to Hamvention. Since I can't write while road tripping, I am pre-posting something I wrote four years ago.

Candy Darling

"Now that I am attractive to men there isn't a man I want" is a quote by Candy Darling that appears in her book Candy Darling: Memoirs of an Andy Warhol Superstar.

Candy's words are my thoughts exactly.

I like bring attractive, but I want nothing to do with any man I attract. That may get me into trouble some day, but so far, so good.

Candy Darling was my first transgender idol. She was a peer and she was gorgeous. And she had the guts to go to New York City and be the woman she was meant to be. Unlike me who lived to please everybody except myself and did not take the 90-minute train ride to The City to be the woman I was meant to be.

I purchased Candy's book for $1.99 in Kindle format from BookBub a few days ago.

If you like books, then you should check out BookBub. Everyday BookBub sends me an e-mail containing great deals on electronic editions of books in topics of my choosing. Typically, the books cost $.99 to $2.99 and some are free. Note that the deals are only good for one day, for example, Candy's book deal has expired and is now back to its normal price of $9.99 $11.49.

I have added about 30 110 books to my library via BookBub. Some of the books are ones I probably would not have obtained at their retail price, but for a buck or two, I could not resist. Usually I am happy with my purchase, but even if I am not, I did not kill a tree in the process.

Wearing Alexis (Source: Intermix)

Femulating at Berlin's Eldorado, circa 1930   

Xenia Marks the Spot

My Internet presence will be sporadic from now until Monday as I will be traveling to and from the Dayton/Xenia, Ohio area to attend the annual ham radio convention, Hamvention.

I will try to post when I can, but I am usually so busy during Hamvention that I have very little time to get on the net.

If you are attending Hamvention, maybe we can have an eyeball QSO! I will be making a short presentation at the TAPR Forum, which starts Friday morning at 9:15 AM in Room 1. Also, I will be staffing TAPR's booths (Building 5, booths 5001-5003) throughout the weekend and attending the TAPR-AMSAT Annual Banquet Friday evening.

Anyway, I am cutting this post short because I have to finish packing.

Wearing Bebe

📺 Clément Hervieu Léger (left) femulates in the French television series Suite Noire.

Sitting to Pee: Here, There and Everywhere

By Starla Renee Trimm

Reading Stana’s discussion of her travels and the inevitable topic of restroom use when on the road in feminine garb (no one thinks about or discusses bathrooms more than T-girls) brought some memories into focus.

Back in the day, in my healthy years when I had a life and actually went places, I took quite a few road trips en femme. As I passed most of the time, I never had any serious problem using the ladies’ room pretty much anywhere. (And we didn't yet have reactionary politicians trying to pass laws making it a capital offense to simply pee in an appropriate facility.) Nevertheless, when travelling in unfamiliar places (especially here in the South), better safe than sorry.

What I would do when my bladder was crying uncle was to seek out a gas station/convenience store — not the large 7-11 type enterprises, but the smaller businesses that only had a small kiosk type island housing cashiers and a limited array of junk food and beer. Why? Because such facilities usually had small bathrooms that required key access. Besides the fact that they could only be used by one customer at a time eliminating the possibility of a negative encounter in the restroom itself, there still remained the remote chance that someone might see me entering or exiting the thing, have doubts as to my gender status and make a fuss.

Having to request the key gave me an "excuse" in the event of a confrontation. If they handed me the key to the little girls' potty (as was the case almost 100% of the time), I figured I was passing well and pretty safe inasmuch as I could always protest that, hey, that was the key the clerk gave me, so I assumed that was the bathroom I was directed to use.

And since even in male mode in such situations, I was sometimes given the ladies' room key simply because the boys' room was (a) out of order, (b) on the verge of being declared a toxic waste cleanup site or (c) occupied by a leisurely squatter who was taking his dear time while, as my Momma used to say, "my back teeth are floating" — the notion of being perceived as male, yet directed verbally or tacitly to the ladies' loo was not inconceivable. Maybe I was overthinking things by coming up with such complex planning, but you never know.

In any case, my confidence in such a scheme was bolstered and solidified on one road trip when my gas tank was on "close to fumes" and my bladder on "dam about to burst" as I entered the little hamlet of Waynesboro, Georgia ("The Bird Dog Capital of the World"). My only option for topping one tank off and emptying the other was the rather shabby looking enterprise at the center of town, manned by several bearded good ol’ boys in overalls, chawin’ tabaccy and generally perpetuating the “seedy side of Mayberry” stereotype.

Well, between having that brassy boldness that prior positive encounters produced, as well as the point of no return risk of an impending flood under my denim skirt, I did not even hesitate to stride into the place, flash a sweet smile at the Head Bubba and ask for the bathroom key. Whatever tiny residual concern remained that had not yet been overridden by urological distress was quickly dispelled as the dude handed me the ladies’ room key with a wink and a smile (and, I think, a bit of a leer), drawling “There ya go, darlin’.”

For once, I was far more comforted than offended by such sexist behavior!

Wearing Veronica Beard

Jerick Hoffer (aka Jinkx Monsoon) femulating in television's Capitol Hill.

Someday Funnies

Gorgeous! (Source: Harper's Bazaar)

Harvey Korman femulates in 📺 "Both Father and Mother," the situation comedy embedded in the 1979 film Americathon.

On the Road Again

This is the only photo I have of me and my Subaru. I must get more photos with the most favorite car I ever owned.

I have driven my Subaru thousands of miles cross-country cross-dressed and I will do so again next week when I drive from Connecticut to Ohio and back. My experiences as a woman driver were revealing to me.

(Funny story: After I purchased my Subaru back in 2007, a lesbian friend remarked, "How appropriate," because Subaru's are reputed to be the vehicle of choice among lesbians. I had no idea!)

👠 If I wear shorts or a short skirt or short dress when I drive, tractor trailer drivers will occasionally honk in appreciation of the view. Even though I am an old lady, I have had this experience more than once.

👠 No surprise here, but male drivers will take advantage of woman drivers. Men drive more aggressively when they cross paths with me. They assume that I will back off and give them the right of way, which I usually do, not because I am meek and mild, but because I am crossdressed. I do not want to get into an accident, then have to deal with civilians and police as an outed crossdresser, which showing my driver's license will clearly reveal.

👠 Following up on the previous point, I drive legal as a woman driver. I closely follow all the rules of the road because I don't want to deal with police as a crossdresser. My understanding is that in my neck of the woods, dealing with the police is not an issue because they have been trained to deal respectfully with our kind. Beyond my neck of the woods, who knows? In any case, who wants to deal with the police respectfully or not?

👠 Car trouble as a woman driver is a piece of cake. You won't break a nail or get a smudge of car grease on your skirt fixing the problem. Being an AAA member is one solution, but instead of waiting for AAA to show up, just look helpless and soon a gentleman will stop by and do the dirty work. It happened to me once while shopping at a strip mall. When I returned to my car with my purchases, my car would not start, so I opened the hood to see if that would help. It did! Within minutes, two gents in a pickup truck pulled up, assessed the situation and determined that my battery was dead. They carefully explained to me how to start the car by popping the clutch and I was quickly on my way.

👠 Passing is easy as a woman driver. Just use your turn signal to indicate what you are doing and when the passing lane is clear, speed up to enter the passing lane. After you passed, use your turn signal again and return to the travel lane. Seriously, passing as a woman is easier sitting inside your car. Tinted glass and reflections off the glass camouflage your appearance so you are less likely to be read sitting in your Subaru. Waiting at a traffic light one night, a guy in the lane next to me rolled down the window on the passenger side of his car and tried earnestly to engage me in conversation. I ignored him, but I assumed that I passed especially since it was dark.

👠 During long roadtrips, you are likely to need to use a restroom. I have no fear about using the ladies' room in Connecticut because I know the state laws protect me, but I feel less comfortable using the ladies' rooms in other states because their state laws may not protect me. However, I will feel even more uncomfortable if I don't use the ladies' room, so I do what I have to do and have never had a problem. For what it's worth, I have successfully relieved myself in ladies' rooms in the following states: Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Rhode Island and West Virginia.

And so I go.

Wearing Bebe

Womanless fashion show (circa 1970)

Peer Appearance

Karen Bigelow: A Peer

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

They were all born in 1951, so they will all be 68 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 68-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 a variety of lists of famous people born that year. 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 of the lists, searched the Internet for any of their photos taken during the past 12 months and I found recent photos of the females mentioned above. (By the way, four of them 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 had hairdos shorter than mine. Two wore pageboys and the rest wore shoulder-length or longer hairdos. Therefore, based on my peers, my hair is too short for a 68-year-old woman!

Next I looked at the shoes. All 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, so 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 wore a thigh-high hemline like I occasionally find myself wearing.

In conclusion, all I have to do is wear a more 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!

Wearing Wholesale 7

Carollyn Olson wearing Venus

Wednesday Wanderings

Actresses Portraying Transwomen: Counterpoint

My post yesterday suggested that male actors should portray transwomen in films and on television. My friend Diana suggested something different and you can read here post on this topic here.

Second Planet from the Sun

Monday, I wrote about my discovery of clothing from online seller Venus. It's not like I just discovered Venus a week ago; I have been aware of Venus for years, but I thought that in general, their clothing was too sexy and I held off buying their clothing... because I didn't want to look too sexy???

I Love the Smell of Ohio in the Morning

Did I mention that I will be living as a woman 24/7 for 5 days the weekend after Mother's Day? I'm so looking forward to my annual trip to Ohio for Hamvention! I hope to see some ham radio sisters there.

Wearing Etienne Aigner (Source: Etienne Aigner)

Bill Kaulitz

Actresses Portraying Transwomen

I have a pet peeve: actresses portraying transwomen.

Here are two portrayals that come to mind that are so unrealistic: Rebecca Romijn on Ugly Betty and Famke Jannsen on Nip/Tuck.

Both are television portrayals, but the film industry is just as guilty using actresses to portray trans-woman, for example, Raquel Welch in Myra Breckenridge and Felicity Huffman in Transamerica.

Male actors should portray transwoman. Such portrayals would be more realistic if men filled the T-girl roles. Few actresses are the right size to realistically portray a male-to-female transperson. Their voices are not convincing and in boy mode, their mannerisms are not convincing.



When male actors do portray transwoman, the portrayals are very realistic. Cillian Murphy in Breakfast on Pluto, Lee Pace in Soldier's Girl and Johnny Depp in Ed Wood are examples of successful portrayals of actors portraying transwomen.

Can you imagine someone like Drew Barrymore portraying Ed Wood? I think not.

Wearing Venus (Source: Venus)

Ed Wood femulating in the 1953 film 📺 Glen or Glenda.