Stuff: Support

By J.J. Atwell

Who Needs Support?

Everybody needs support. And no, it’s not just your boobs that need support. It’s what is happening inside your head that I’m covering today. 

It doesn’t matter what the issue is, support is something that helps us live a full life. Of course, since you’re reading this post on Femulate.org, you might be especially interested in support for you and other crossdressers. 

So where do we get that needed support?

On Line Support

There are lots of ways we can find support on line thanks to the expansion of the internet over the past 20+ years. Right here on this site you will read some very interesting stories about the topic. In fact, the mere act of reading Stana’s webpage is support itself.

If you also look at the right side of the page, Stana has several interesting sites for you to check out. Just spend some time reading these sites to get more comfortable about your crossdressing inclination. 

There are also several larger, specialist sites that offer a support network for us. These include www.crossdressers.com, www.crossdresserheaven.com and www.tgforum.com. If you haven’t explored those sites, you will find some very interesting stories there. They are from people like us and relate real world experiences. There is no shortage of advice dispensed on line, both here on Femulate and on the other referenced sites.

Real Life Support

Notice the “real life” part of this section. Yes, it involves meeting others in real life. It might be in a secure private meeting place, in the home of a crossdressing group or out in more public areas. I know that’s a huge step for many of us. It means we can’t hide our femme self behind a keyboard. The first time you do it will be scary. And exhilarating. 

The scary part lessens as you do it more frequently. I’m not sure it ever goes away. Fortunately, the exhilarating part doesn’t seem to go away either. 

I’ve been the beneficiary of this real life support and has really made a difference in my crossdressing world. It has helped me improve my femme presentation and my wife and I have made friends with other crossdresser/significant-other couples. 

It was through the internet resources mentioned above that I found out about a local crossdressing group that met monthly. Going to those meetings gets JJ out once a month. Some months we also get together with our new friends, typically in standard man/wife mode doing things that couples do together. 

I’ll Be Back

There is a part 2 to this story and you’ll see it soon. In the mean time I’ll be finding more Stuff to write about. Until then, I’d welcome comments here on Stana’s page or by email at Jenn6nov at-sign gmail dot com.

Wearing Diane von Furstenberg

Mark-Paul Gosselaar femulating on television’s Saved By The Bell.

In the Pink

 

Wearing Hemant & Nandita

Danny Thomas femulating in a 1958 episode of television’s The Danny Thomas Show.

High Praise

Last week, I was speechless after viewing an episode of A Gender Fluid Life, a video blog (vlog) hosted by Clive/Anja. The episode that silenced me is entitled “Femulate – Inspiration and Celebration” and it talks about all that is good about Femulate.org.

I crank out this blog every day and I enjoy doing so. Occasionally I receive compliments for my work, but most of the time, I only hear is crickets. Clive’s/Anja’s vlog post made up for all of those days full of crickets and I can’t thank them enough for the kind words. (By the way, that’s Clive and Anja in the Before and After slot below.)

Click here to view “Femulate – Inspiration and Celebration” on YouTube.

Wearing ModCloth

Clive and Anja, the hosts of A Gender Fluid Life vlog.

Dinnerwear

 

Wearing Maje

Reginald VelJohnson femulating on a 1991 episode of television's Family Matters.

Dress Like A Girl

Wearing Ann Taylor

Jaleel White femulating on an episode of television’s Family Matters.

Just Like Me

I am feminine. This is not something I developed over the years – I have been feminine all my life.

Being feminine came naturally to me. I did not intentionally choose to be feminine; I just acted naturally, but society categorized my natural act as feminine.

I did not have an inkling that I was feminine until an older boy told me I needed to stop acting like a girl and to man up for my own good. I rejected the boy’s assessment and continued to act naturally and as a result, suffered the slings and arrows of my peers, who called me such names as sissy, twinkie, fairy, faggot, homo, etc.

And worse, I was so blind to my own femininity that when I saw it in other guys, I assumed that they were gay because that was the stereotype for gay males that I had learned.

As I grew older and wiser, I realized I was feminine and really a girl at heart. I also learned that my stereotype for gay males was wrong. Gay males can be (or appear to be) as masculine as heterosexual males. I also learned that heterosexual males can be feminine... just like me.

And I came to the realization that the feminine male friends and acquaintances that over the years I branded as gay were not necessarily gay, but may have been transgender... just like me.

Wearing Boston Proper

Sid Caesar femulating in the 1966 television movie The Mouse That Roared, which you can view on YouTube. Thank you, Zoe, for unearthing this femulation.

Miss Taken Identity

 

Wearing Boston Proper

Frank Marino, professional femulator

Bad Times

Bad Ink, How the New York Times Sold Out Transgender Teens is the title Riki Wilchins’ latest book, which is an expose about the New York Times’ anti-trans kids agenda.

Wilchins’ explains, “...when it came to transgender kids, beginning around 2015, the Times underwent a strange transformation, shifting from an early and long-time support of transgender rights to the nation’s leading voice attacking transgender kids. And stranger still, this wasn’t based on new reporting or fresh medical evidence, but on talking points being promoted by white Christian nationalist organizations that were devoted to eradicating transgender kids in order to reignite their stalled anti-gay culture wars.” 

Wilchins’ book details the history of the Times’ coverage of trans issues from the 1960’s to the present day and how it all went wrong in 2015 when the Times began twisting real facts and using alternative facts to push their agenda, which originated with (no surprise) the MAGA and Christian nationalist right whose ultimate goal is to eradicate transgenderism. All truths are avoided or played down in order for the Times to achieve its despicable agenda.

This book was a revelation to me because the Times was a newspaper I used to respect. I had no idea that it had sunk as low as the National Enquirer with regard to trans kids’ rights. That saddens me and from now on, I will be suspicious concerning everything spewed out from the Times.

I highly recommend Riki Wilchins’ new book to all trans folks who are concerned about maintaining their hard-earned rights. 

Wearing LEAU

 

British beauty Diana Grant, out and about

Good Job!

 

Wearing Dress Barn

Before: Artist Paul Whitehead, After: Artist Trisha Van Cleef

My Favorite Things

Here are a few of my favorite things.

I love carrying a handbag... the girlier, the better. (Don’t want my bag to be mistaken for a manbag.)

Don't know if I have Gynecomastia or not, but I do know that I have breasts that are large enough to fill a size 40B bra without inserts, pads or any other assistance. And when I slip on my bra, I love finding those two perky mounds on my chest (it never gets old).

Mom loved high heels, always wore them when she went out and she owned a closet full. Like mother, like daughter, I love high heels, usually wear them when I go out and I own a closet full.

Mom had shapely legs. When she worked in an office before she married, her nickname was “Legs.” Again like mother, like daughter, I inherited my mother legs and a transman once dubbed me “Leggy.” I love being my mother’s daughter.

Mom was also a pretty woman. I like to think that I take after her in that regard, too, but I will let others be the judge of that.

I love being a feminine man. When I am en homme, it can be a hindrance, but it works so well for me when I am en femme that I would not have it any other way.

Making up my face is something I always look forward to. I love the process, the tricks, the shortcuts and especially the results. After I do my makeup, slip on my wig and look in the mirror, it is always an aha moment! (Yes, I really am a woman.)

And so it goes.

Wearing Zimmermann

Modern female escorts womanless beauty pageant contestant.