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Wearing Ulla Johnson |
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Alex Newell on the blue carpet at the Independent Spirit Awards |
By Paula Gaikowski
Back in 1982, there was a scarcity of information on transgender persons and crossdressing. So when I saw the Life magazine article about the upcoming release of the movie Tootsie, I was thrilled. Paula channeling her inner Tootsie
(1999)
Although Tootsie is not a movie about transgender persons or even crossdressing, it’s a movie about a man walking in the shoes of a woman both literally and metaphorically. The man, Michael Dorsey, is a narcissist and arrogant actor who no one will hire. He unintentionally sheds this toxic behavior and finds what life is like from a woman’s point of view and learns a lot about himself and the world we live in.
The role of Dorothy Michaels (Michael’s femme name) was also life-changing for Dustin Hoffman. Here he’s speaking about the first time he saw Dorothy in the mirror.
“It was at that moment I had an epiphany and I went home and started crying, talking to my wife. I said I have to make this picture and she said, ‘Why?’ And I said, ‘Because I think I am an interesting woman when I look at myself on screen. And I know that if I met myself at a party, I would never talk to that character because she doesn’t fulfill physically the demands that we’re brought up to think women have to have.”
Before Hoffman would even consider making the movie, he asked the studio to spend money on makeup and wardrobe to see if he could realistically look like a woman. He spent weeks in wardrobe working on a look and yes, I am jealous too! He wanted to look like an authentic woman in his words, “I wanted to walk down the streets of New York and not have anyone think ‘hey that’s a guy.’
In my opinion he was successful, the attention to detail was there, padded hips, breast forms, shaving and neutral makeup. Seeing all this, it spoke one thing to me as I sat there and read that Life magazine article, I could do this! I could make myself look like a woman and experience life as a woman. It would be years before I ventured out as Paula but make no mistake, Tootsie had a huge effect on me; for me too it was life changing.
Dustin Hoffman sure looked fantastic as Dorothy. I understand he went out as Dorothy to restaurants, shops and businesses to see how people reacted. He seemed to have a zeal for this, much as we do. I wonder sometimes: civilian or non-civilian?
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Wearing Joseph Ribkoff |
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San Francisco professional femulator D'Arcy Drollinger |
Years ago, I created a list of the top 30 things every femulator needs to emulate a woman. Some of the items in the list were essentials (like wigs, jewelry, etc.) and some of the items were less essential. The casual femulator could get away without the less essential items. However, the serious femulator, that is, girls who pass among the civilians, it’s the little things that count, so the less essential items become essential.
When I say “it’s the little things that count,” I am referring to all the little things that together comprise a femulator. Reminds me of a trip years ago to attend First Event in the Boston area. Elaine was driving and I was riding shotgun en femme. I thought I looked pretty good and while I was admiring the false nails on my fingers, I noticed that (horrors!), I forgot to shave my hands! Luckily my electric shaver was accessible in my luggage in the back seat and I was able to fix that little thing before we arrived at the First Event hotel.
Checking into a hotel or using a credit card is another little thing. Most credit card companies will issue additional cards under the same account for other family members. So get an additional card issued to yourself, but just use the initial of your first name with your last name. For example, John Smith would get an additional credit card issued for “J Smith” to use when en femme. But that only works if John Smith goes female as Joan, Jean, Jackie, or some other female name starting with the letter J. (Lucky me, my male and female first names both start with the letter S.)
If you wear eyeglasses, next time buy a pair with unisex frames or if you can afford it, buy a second pair with a feminine frame. With an eyeglass prescription in hand, you can order eyeglasses online at very reasonable prices. (I recently bought a pair of girly glasses online for about $50.)
If you need eyeglasses for reading, you can buy inexpensive reading glasses with very feminine frames just about anywhere (the local pharmacy, Walmart, etc). Also, you can buy woman's sunglasses just about anywhere, too.
Voila!
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Wearing Roller Rabbit |
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Raimu femulating in the 1933 French film Théodore et Cie. |
Regarding my knee replacement surgery...
My Physical Therapist (PT) says I am well ahead of the curve regarding recovery. Pain is mild and infrequent and I am getting around without assistance except when I go up and down stairs when I use a crutch.
PT believes that when I see my doctor/surgeon on Monday, he will probably give me the green light to start driving again (just two weeks after surgery). My fear that I would have difficulty depressing my Subaru’s clutch with my new knee proved to be just fear – my therapist insisted that we test it yesterday and there was no pain using the clutch.
I am a just little anxious about what my leg will look like when the bandages are removed on Monday.
And so it goes.
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Barry Scott femulating in the 1970 British film Goodbye Gemini. |
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J. Harrison Ghee |