Young Stana

I do not recall ever wishing I was a girl. I just wanted to do the things that girls did, for example, act like a girl, play like a girl, dress like a girl, etc.

Acting like a girl was easy because I did not have to act. I acted like a girl naturally. And the bullies could not convince me to act otherwise.

Playing like a girl was easy too because I had a sister who was happy to have a playmate for girl play.

Dressing like a girl came later, but once I found the courage to dress like a girl, I was all in.

So I did not wish to be a girl because I was already living as a girl. Yes, I was a boy, but I did not let that stop me from being the best girl I could be.

Wearing New York & Company

Iain Armitage dressing pretty on television's Young Sheldon.

Leolines

By Paula Gaikowski

A friend recommended an online clothing retailer that specialized in clothes tailored for transgender men and women. I was immediately skeptical; I had visions of overpriced fetish wear and poorly designed clothes. However, I was pleasantly surprised and put them on my list of potential places to shop.

Leolines was started by Chris McKelvey a seamstress who sewed custom made dance and gymnastic costumes. One day, the parent of a transgender girl asked if she could make an outfit that would meet the needs of her transgender daughter. She was elated with the results and asked her if she could make underwear and swimsuits. The word soon spread in the transgender community and thus her business was born.

Leolines panties are designed to hide the more masculine parts of a femulator’s anatomy. The reviews I’ve read all stress how they changed the life of so many transgender women who could now have the confidence to wear leggings, jeans and bodycon dresses. They are also very comfortable and eliminate the need for gaffs, tight panties or Spanx. Along with all that, they are pretty.

As I wrote here, I have this whole tucking thing down to a science so why would I need something special and besides, for me there is a certain joie de vivre knowing that I am wearing clothes made for a female.

Here’s where it got interesting. My wife and I have DADT agreement going when it comes to my femulating. She runs hot and cold and there have been times over the years when she’s bought me clothes and also given me some of hers. 

A few years ago, I inherited two of her sport bras, which I took to wearing under sweaters in the wintertime. The other day she saw them in the wash. They were very worn and she remarked that I need some new ones. 

“Well, my birthday is coming up,” I joked. 

I never expected anything to come of it.

How she found Leolines on Esty I’ll never know, but I was surprised, elated and touched in the heart when I opened my gifts and found a Leolines Racer Back Bra and High Waist Panty, both in the Tinkerbell print. Tinkerbell is a playful name my wife has used over the years when referring to me and femulating. 

There was a lot in that gift: true love, acceptance and grace. I love wearing them under sweatshirts on cold days here in Maine. It’s my way of knowing deep down who I am. As you all can relate, it just feels right. 

About half of Leolines business is transgender children. The other is transgender adults and most of them are younger. The generation of transgender persons behind us are out and upcoming. They are consumers and the business world is rising to meet their demands. Moving out of their niches and into the mainstream are retailers like Bindle and Keep, who custom make suits for transgender men. I predict we are soon to see a transgender line of clothing by a mainstream vendor such as Victoria Secret, Maidenform, Spanx or Torrid.

Wearing Oscar De La Renta

Rob Harmon femulating in the 2008 film Between Love and Goodbye.

Your Favorite National Dress Day Dresses

On National Dress Day, I invited you to send me a photo wearing your favorite dress. The following lovely ladies responded and I thank them all.

Angela Booth

Anna Maria (and friend)

Dawn Wyvern

Dee

Deedee

Jocelyn

Julie Michelle

Kandi Robbins

Lena

Mikki

Nancy Ng

Rachel

Suzanne W. Jeffries

Tina Davis

Virginia

Wearing BGL

Marques Houston femulating in House Party 4: Down to the Last Minute.

Male Woman

70 years old today and counting

Today is International Women's Day. 

As we prepare to celebrate International Women’s Day on March 8, our resolve to keep pushing for gender equality is stronger than ever. And we won’t stop until girls and women are equal everywhere.

That’s because equality is her birthright, enshrined in the UN Charter, but it isn’t her reality. Despite some progress, there is no place or part of life where a girl or woman has the equal rights or opportunities as a boy or man.

As a male woman, I am very sympathetic to these goals. Though some would say that I have “male privilege,” I would argue that male women are treated worse than cisgender women and I yearn to achieve the same equality sought by women.

Even living much of my life disguised as a man, my natural femininity marked me as less than a man and I was treated accordingly by both males and females. 

Living as a male woman was an improvement. I was living as my true self and females seemed to embrace me as someone who had joined their team. On the other hand, males treated me even more poorly than they did when I was in my man disguise.

I am sure that all male women have had similar experiences and also long for gender equality.

Wearing New York & Company

Olive

Someday Funnies

Wearing Boston Proper

Pretty in polka-dots

National Dress Day!

Today is National Dress Day!

How to Observe

• Wear one of your favorite dresses on March 6th

• Follow @nationaldressday on Instagram

• Post your favorite dress memory using #NationalDressDay

Or e-mail me a photo in your favorite dress and I will post it here on Femulate.

Wearing Venus

Lee Tergesen femulating in the 1991 film Cast a Deadly Spell.
You can view the film on YouTube.

Bad News and Good News

By Paula Gaikowski

Last week, there was bad news for transgender persons and there was good news. 

First the good news, the House passed the Equality Act, a bill that would extend basic rights to the LGBTQ community. It just needs to get past the Senate with 60 votes where I am sure it’s in for a fight. Ironically the overwhelming majority of Americans are in favor of the law (many assume that LGBTQ already have these protections).

If you walk down the hallway in the Capitol, you will see the transgender flag proudly displayed in front of the office of Congresswoman Marie Newman. The congresswoman put it there in support of her 20-year-old transgender daughter.

Now for the bad news, Congresswoman Marjorie Greene reacted to the flag by posting a transphobic sign meant to appeal to people’s fears and prejudices in the culture war that the GOP stokes daily in their only hope of gaining the electorate.

The sign she posted reads, “There are only two genders, Trust the science.”

There are so many things wrong with that statement besides just being hurtful and hateful.

1. Gender is a social construct, not biological. Ironically, after denigrating science when it comes to climate change and the pandemic, Greene uses science as a tool, although incorrectly.

2. Greene probably was referring to biological sex. However, it is scientifically evident that intersex persons exist. A common argument amongst transphobic people is that you are either XX or XY chromosomed and that defines your sex and gender absolutely. Intersex persons are much more common than one would think. Here’s a list of famous intersexed persons.

3. Her statement that there are only two genders is also incorrect. Let us not forgot the non-binary members of our community. Our culture has predominately recognized two genders, male and female and that Ms. Greene, is where most of us transgender persons struggle. We struggle with being the wrong biological sex and along with our biology, we are assigned a social gender. Gender and sex are two different things and transgender persons struggle with both.

All of this illustrates how far we have come in the battle for transgender rights, but also how far we must go. When I think back to my 20’s, the idea that a congressperson would plant the transgender flag on Capitol Hill and be advocating for her transgender daughter was a distant dream. Add to it the fact that being transgender is no longer a tabloid curiosity, but common in all our communities. 

Wherever you are in your journey, whether closeted or transitioned, remember not to be afraid to advocate for our community. It’s time to speak up and defend transgender people by showing our support. We can object to rude jokes and stereotypes, correct persons misconceptions and support gay and transgender colleagues. We need to take a stand and show acceptance and support for transgender persons and make transphobic behavior socially unacceptable.

Wearing London Times

Mateusz Jakubiec femulated Lene Nystrøm Rasted (Aqua) on Polish television's Twoja Twarz Brzmi Znajomo.
You can view this femulation on YouTube.