The Sound of Music... Again! (Part 2)

By Norah Blucher

The Dangers of Traveling Female

By and large, I have few issues in all my travels en femme. No one seems to pay me much attention and I just sort of blend in with any other woman out and about, but sometimes it can still get creepy. Whether through conscious thought or not, you start learning to bypass places that just do not look quite right. You pump your petrol before it gets dark if you can and you just begin to notice things you never did as male or perhaps they just did not happen as male.

I was on back roads most of this trip and I pulled into a petrol station to top off. It was an established chain and appeared very clean and I had no issues whatsoever as I went in to pay and a kind chap even stopped and waited for me to come to the door to hold it open for me to enter on his way out! I picked up a cold drink, paid and went back out to fill my car.

It was after filling up though and getting back in the car that I glanced to the side and noticed the chap who had held the door for me just sitting in his truck and staring at me. As I started my car to pull off, he started his truck and drove off in an unhurried fashion. I’ve no idea if he was trying to figure me out or liked what he saw and was waiting till the end of the show or what, but whatever the case may be, it just struck me as odd. Had it been late I night I would likely have been a bit more creeped-out for sure, but I just tell you all this so that you are aware of your surroundings. Being out and about as female can be a whole different ball of yarn indeed.

The Road to Berlin

As I got back into New Hampshire, I once again saw the breathtaking views of the high peaks of the Presidential Range and stopped to take a quick picture, but I had once again had enough of the heat and decided to do my weekly shopping at a Walmart and cool down again before continuing home in the coolness of the darker hours. In keeping with my Von Trapp-themed day, I pulled into Berlin, New Hampshire, in the northern reaches of the state.

I was not sure what to expect to be right honest. I’m regularly out and about in southern New Hampshire and it has always been a fab place all around. The northern part of the state is a bit more remote and I do not get up that way much let alone en femme, so I was not entirely sure what to expect out and about as Norah.

All in all though, I must say it was an altogether unexciting experience. I felt I stood out a bit more than I do in other places and I’m sure a bubbly girl in wedge heels with a British accent is not the most frequent sight in an area where wellies are the dominant footwear and one can ride their ATV to the corner market, but by and large, no one paid me much attention. No stares in an approving or disapproving manner and as far as anyone knew, I was likely nothing more than another summer tourist passing through.

I did spy a Marshall’s on my way into town, and had the same pleasant experience I usually expect anywhere else. Just pleasant hello’s or excuse me’s as I browsed the clothing racks among other women. I had long shopped for female clothing while out and about as a male, though I always felt a tinge of uneasiness whenever doing so. It has still not gotten old how free I feel out and about now as Norah and feeling no hesitation while browsing or trying things on even.

I did manage to find a full length-mirror though, so you can at least see what the travel skirt looked like.

Home At Last

I finally returned home after making the final leg in the relative coolness of darkness. It was probably not all that cool actually, but just felt so much better without the glaring heat of the sun. It was rather late and I was knackered as usual, but despite the heat, I had no real complaints.

So this one was for you Elise! I’ve met a Femulate reader or two out and about in my travels, but indeed the spirit of all my supporters is always with me when I’m out.

So loves, I hope you enjoyed all of this even if I did not find a dirndl and twirl around in the hills. Probably best I did not anyway as my singing would likely have caused the forest creatures to flee faster than they did from the fire in Bambi lol.

If you’ve any questions or comments, please write in the comments below or you can email me at nblucher at-sign proton dot me.

Wearing Ann Taylor

Dick Martin femulating on television’s Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In.

The Sound of Music... Again!

By Norah Blucher

Okay so perhaps I’m not always the most creative with titles as I’ve used this one before, but in a slightly different context when I went to the symphony. It did however elicit quite a reaction from longtime Femulate reader Elise who has an adoration for the film by the same name and all things alpine complete with dirndls. I must admit I’ve since bought the movie, but have yet to watch it. However when I had the opportunity to have a real life Sound of Music experience I could not let Elise down and jumped at the chance! Sort of.

Some Like It Hot!

I’d long read how many femulators go into hibernation in the summer and even Stana did so in her early days. I started going out last fall and figured I would do the same, but as the seasons passed and summer approached I abandoned all intentions of the sort and resigned to just deal with it as stepping out as female had just become my default state in many ways.

And oh my did I get a lot of bloody practice for sure! My first summer out and about as a woman was one of the hottest I ever remember in New England and right at the start the air conditioner in my car decided it had sung its last song. And it was in this situation I found myself heading home from a sweltering trip to Vermont. It had been a fab trip for sure and I recently wrote about my dinner cruise on the same trip, but now it was time to head home.

It was on this trip I came to adore the travel skirt a staple which would serve me well throughout the sweltering summer. I’m not sure if travel skirt is the proper name, but it is what I came to call the cool simple flowy wrinkle-resistant skirts used by so many women while traveling or on holiday. You can roll them in a ball in your suitcase and they unpack with nary a wrinkle to speak of.

The largely water-resistant makeup routine I adopted while skiing also served me well, though this time the water was from me and not the weather lol. I also returned to my longer hair again as the wefted cap of that one was a right bit cooler especially when tied up off my neck with a clip.

And so hoping for the best I set out from Burlington hoping, I would make it home before the turkey popper popped and my goose was cooked.

The Hills Are Alive!

I drove in my oven toward Stowe where I planned to visit the Von Trapp House of The Sound of Music fame. If you recall, the Von Trapp family eventually fled the Nazis and settled in the rather alpine setting of the mountains of northern Vermont. And though I do think it is much newer than the original Von Trapp house, a brewery nearby also bears their name as well.

It was a very pretty drive for sure along back country roads through the verdant Vermont hills, but by the time I reached the Von Trapp brewery, I was afraid my makeup may have melted off and I was just ready to get out of the rolling oven I was calling a car. I checked my makeup and though it did not look the most smashing, it was still holding up better than I expected so I made my way inside.

To my dismay, I discovered they had all the doors open as the brewery had no air conditioning! Ugh! Many places in the northern tier of New England can still be found without air conditioning as it is not often needed, but today was certainly a day it was. Anyway, as the hostess seated me, I noticed many others were in my predicament, too.

Not that the brewery was terribly crowded midday during the week, but as I sipped a soda and awaited my schnitzel and spaetzle, I scanned the room and outside patio and saw every other woman was not exactly the picture of beauty when it is 95 degrees out and none of them were letting it bother them and neither was I! Though I was not looking exactly my best, no one seemed to take notice of me either.

The food was absolutely delicious and even though I was at a brewery I did not try any beer. It was much too hot for any alcohol and I’m more of a wine or gin girl anyway. I still had to drive as well, but not before taking a peek at the actual brewery!

I perused the gift shop before departing, but sadly dirndls were not to be had. So back into the oven it was for the short trip to the lodge.

Von Trapp Family Lodge

I’d been all over Vermont over a decade ago, but had not ventured to the Von Trapp Family Lodge and it was rather impressive. It truly looked like something out the Alps and I half expected Julie Andrews to come outside and start twirling around.

That was not to be however, but they did have a lot of hiking biking and other sorts of outdoor activities at the site and some crazy fools were even doing them in the blasted heat of the day. I decided upon something more my speed for a hot summer day and browsed the air-conditioned gift shop and even tried on a summer dress which I ended up not getting as it just did not look good on me.

Overall I found people most friendly and either I was passing or no one gave a hoot what I was.

Stay tuned for Part 2 of Norah’s roadtrip in tomorrow’s post. In the meantime, if you’ve any questions or comments, please write in the comments below or you can email Norah at nblucher at-sign proton dot me.

Wearing Boston Proper

Lee Bennett femulating in the 1946 film Scared to Death. I started watching this film on TCM because it was a rare Bela Lugosi flick – rare in that it was in color (almost all of the other films Lugosi appeared in were in black and white). I had no idea that the film had a femulation, which occurred in the last few minutes of the film. When the film ended, I rewound the film to the femulation scene and took some shots with my iPhone. 

Are Younger Women More Open To Crossdressers?

Emma Davies commented on Sunday’s “The ‘Extra Hour of Sleep’ Post” as follows:

The last two funnies did make me wonder of the experiences of others. I have found that younger women are becoming more open to my dressing nowadays. Are others feeling that they are seeing similar ? Has (social) media coverage affected attitudes? Just a thought. 

Before I expressed my thoughts on the question, I asked AI, “Are younger women becoming more open to men who crossdress nowadays?”

Here is AI’s response:

Given the existing evidence, I think it’s plausible that younger women as a group are somewhat more open to men who cross-dress than older women, for the following reasons:

1. Because younger women tend to embrace less rigid gender norms, they may be more receptive to non-traditional gender expression in partners.
2. The increasing visibility of gender non-normative dress, plus cultural shifts around masculinity and femininity, likely lower the stigma surrounding men wearing “feminine” clothing or cross-gender style.
3. Anecdotal accounts (though not rigorous) suggest that women often express positive or curious responses to male cross-dressers.

However — and this is key — becoming more open does not mean broad acceptance across all younger women, or that dating/relationship dynamics automatically shift. Individual attitudes will vary a lot based on culture, region, background, personal values, religious or community norms, and the context (casual vs committed relationship).

I am no expert, but my experience being out en femme for several years confirms reason 3. In general, women my age (the Boomers) are usually not thrilled with my crossdressing, while younger women are usually “positive or curious.”

The Boomers

A long-time family friend ended our friendship when she found out that I crossdressed. (She never saw me crossdressed; she just heard about it.)

Another close friend, who is very LGBT+ friendly, is not a fan. (She only saw me dressed on a couple of Halloweens.)

An in-law thought I was mentally ill. (She never saw me dressed.)

Another in-law socialized with me en femme, but she was always very uncomfortable when she did.

And so it goes with most female Boomers.

The Youngsters

The 20-, 30- and 40-something women at work were very supportive. As one remarked to me, she always looked forward to see how I looked en femme and I “never disappointed.”

When shopping en femme, young saleswoman in general are friendlier than older saleswomen although admittedly they are in it for the money. 

The times I went out en femme with my daughter, I was her “aunt” unless we encountered one of her friends and then she introduced me as her father. After the shock wore off, her friends were always friendly with me and treated me as one of the girls. (Even her guy friends were OK with “Aunty.”)

So my personal anecdotal evidence agrees with AI’s reason number 3. How about you?

Wearing Boston Proper

Thomas Kuc and Benjamin Flores, Jr. femulating on television’s Game Shakers.

Stuff 94: Coming to Terms with Terms

By J.J. Atwell

Terms?

Terms can be helpful when describing ourselves or others. But terms can also turn into horrible traps. Some terms are benign. Like him or her. Others are loaded with mostly negative connotations. I’m actually going to avoid some of those terms in this installment, but I’m sure you can think of some on your own. 

Try not to be offensive. Your terms are your choice. It seems to me that there are many terms we adopt when referring to our femme self. Notice I said “we.” I’m sure that each of us has a preferred term that they use when describing what we do.

My Terms

I generally refer to myself as a CD, short for crossdresser. To me it accurately describes what I do. When I was first starting out, the commonly used term was transvestite (TV), which is basically the Latin term for the same thing. However, in my mind the term transvestite has mostly negative connotations. Perhaps not in your mind. 

I love the term that Stana has coined, femulate. It’s so descriptive!! We are doing our best to emulate females. Being new it hasn’t yet acquired the negative baggage that some terms have over the years so that’s also a plus. However, since it is new it’s not in general use when describing our community. 

How about TG (transgender) or TS (transsexual)? Two fairly technical/medical terms that get tossed around generally to designate those of us who actually seek to transition from male-to-female in real life. At least that’s how I look at it, but please continue reading below.

For those of you that follow my writing, I’m curious as to what term you would prefer? I just had a discussion about this with one of the other members of my local group and she said she prefers TG to describe her. No, she is not going to transition. She just believes that TG is a nicer term than CD. So, there is another point about how terms we use can be misunderstood by others. Whatever you do, please respect the other person’s preferred terms. 

Drag queen is another popular term to describe men dressing as women. To my mind, this describes someone who is an entertainer. They often dress “over the top” when performing to attract attention. Many drag queens do present as believable females, but it seems it’s always with a wink and a nod. If you’re a drag queen, go ahead and wear that badge proudly while you enjoy your presentation. If you’re a CD who likes to emulate the drag queens when you go out then by all means, go ahead and own it!

Is Your Name A Term?

Long time readers of Stuff will recall in Stuff 22, back on December 11, 2023, I talked about how we pick out our nom de femme. I attempted to make a point about how we sometimes use different names for the same thing. Like that old English poet wrote about the smell of roses. Sadly, it seems that today what we call things can be divisive. What is a rose to some people can be skunk cabbage to others. 

But can our femme name be considered a term? I suppose it can be. Especially a name like Sheila (in Australia, that name is used for any woman) or Cissy/Sissy which some women use to denote a family relationship. And Missy would be another instance where a name would also be considered a term. I’m sure you can think of others too.

So, why do we care? Well, actually I don’t. I’m happy to use whatever terms you prefer and hope you’ll do the same. Once again, I’m just trying to get you, dear reader, to think outside the box. It’s fun!!!

I’ll Be Back

Thank you for reading my term paper! I’ll be finding more Stuff to write about. I welcome comments and suggestions here on Stana’s page or by email at Jenn6nov at-sign gmail dot com.

Wearing Shein

Alan Sues femulating on television’s Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In.

The “Extra Hour of Sleep” Post

Thusly

Past Masts

In case you missed it, Abby commented thusly on Monday:

I often read your old posts, sometimes specific posts but usually a bunch surrounding a random date. It is both entertaining and educational. Recently, you have been posting The Men of Casa Stana as a masthead. Unlike your old posts, which are preserved intact and helpful to read again, your Casa mastheads are not preserved. This is disappointing. Any chance you could archive them? Going through them, like going through your old posts, would be fun and instructive.

Elise agreed thusly:

I agree Abby, I would love to see a gallery of these lovely mastheads. I'm really enjoying the current one (the dozen or so halloween beauties) - I think I've dreamed of wearing each one of those costumes at one point or another;)

And I responded thusly:

I already upload my Funnies to DeviantArt, so I will start uploading the mastheads there, too. Click here to access my DeviantArt.

Vote for Kandi

Don’t forget to vote for Kandi Robbns of Kandi’s Land fame. She entered an online fashion competition and is soliciting votes. The competition is on behalf of the Elton John AIDS Foundation. Click here to vote for Kandi.

Wearing Boston Proper

Lew Parker femulating on a 1971 episode of television’s That Girl.

10 Years Ago Today

Ten years ago today, I had one of my best Halloween experiences going to work en femme. I documented that day with a “live blog,” that is, I added to my Halloween blog post throughout the day as things happened (or did not happen). Here is a repost of that wonderful day.

8:03 AM Post:

Up at 5 AM. Took care of the menagerie and began the transformation at 5:35

I took my time doing my makeup (slow, but steady), so it took a little longer getting ready.

Out the door at 7:05 and I arrived at work at 7:40.

Although I only mentioned that I would be a woman at work to my boss, no one is surprised and expected me to do it.

8:30 AM Post:

When I walked in the building this morning, I asked our receptionist to take some photos. Here is one:

8:45 AM Post:

Three people noticed that I am wearing a new wig!

8:48 AM Post:

The receptionist just called me “Staci,” which is the name I used before switching to Stana. She also asked me how I tied my scarf and I gladly showed her.

9:15 AM Post:

There is a bit of a lull here, so here is another photo (sans glasses and cape) taken by the guy who sits in a cube adjacent to me. Instead of an iPhone, he used a Canon digital SLR camera.

10:05 AM Post:

I just attended a “gemba” (reps from various departments stand in a circle and update the group about the status of a project). The Director of Engineering ran this gemba and called me “Caitlyn.” He is always impressed with my “costume” and was impressed again this year.

A few other people did wear costumes today. 

10:20 AM Post:

A number of women complimented me on my outfit and they love my shoes (I do, too)! They are also amazed on how well I navigate in them... just like a woman.

I bought these shoes from Nine West two years ago, but I never had the opportunity to wear them until now because I did not have an outfit that went with them.

So far, they have been very comfortable despite their 4-inch heel.

11:05 AM Post:

Going to Dress Barn in a little while. The sales associates wanted to see how the dress they sold me on Monday looks on me today.

12:35 PM Post:

I went to Dress Barn and the sales associates who sold me the dress on Monday were not in the store; they work later in the day today.

Not to waste a Dress Barn visit, I browsed the racks and took a half dozen items to the dressing room. Some things looked and fit better than others. 

One dress fit perfectly and looked great: a simple figure-hugging black sheath dress with a gold front zipper that makes the dress. I bought the dress and returned to work.

1:00 PM Post:

As I got ready to leave Dress Barn, my feet started complaining loudly and when I got to my car, I switched to my black medium height wedges. 

1:15 PM Post:

Another lull, so it is time for another photo. My boss' boss took this one on her iPhone as I stood in her office doorway. 

1:53 PM Post:

It is very quiet here. Friday afternoon and things are winding down.

I am very tired. I went to bed late watching the Patriots, got up early to femulate and did not sleep that well in-between because I was excited about today. 

One of my biggest fans here just stopped in to ask me how it is going. He goes out of his way to use the proper pronouns when I am a woman and he once said that I missed my calling and should have been a professional female impersonator.

2:50 PM Post:

This will probably be my last live post for awhile because I am leaving work and going to the mall to shop for a new evening gown. My next post will probably be from home this evening.

7:30 PM Post:

I was successful at Macy's at the mall. I bought a Connected sequin-lace cowl-neck sheath in purple. The photo on the website does not do the dress justice; the sequin is not apparent in the photo, but it makes the dress in person.

My feet had recovered by the time I arrived at the mall and I switched back to heels for my mall tour.

I am going to bed early tonight. I am exhausted!

∞ ∞ ∞

The day-after post was an addendum to my live blog post, so in order to tell the whole story here it is.

I received a lot of positive comments about doing the live blog on Friday and plan to do it again if the opportunity arises and it makes sense to do it. Internet access is the key to doing it successfully, so doing it at work was a perfect scenario.

∞ ∞ ∞

Most of the live blog posts were short and I want to expand on what I wrote on Friday, so here goes!

∞ ∞ ∞

In the 10:05 AM Post, I mentioned attending a “gemba.”  When it was my turn to speak, I said “I had nothing” because I had no news regarding my part of the project under discussion. 

The moderator of the gemba, our Director of Engineering, asked me, “Are you sure there’s nothing you want to add?” 

Knowing him as long as I have, I am sure he was teasing me about my “costume.”

Anyway, after a long pause, I said, “No,” but after I thought about it, I wish I had said, “I guess you all figured out by now that I am transgender.” 

That would have been a gemba they would be talking about for years to come!

∞ ∞ ∞

When I went to show myself to my boss, I found her in her boss’s office (my boss and her boss are women and both know I am transgender, but now that I think about it, I bet that they don’t know that the other one knows because I came out to them separately).

Anyway, they were both wild about my “costume” and my boss’s boss blurted out, “You look better than (my boss)!”

I did not notice my boss’s reaction, but I think my boss’s boss might regret what she said. 

The truth is that although my boss is pretty and is about 10 years younger, I think I can modestly say that I compare favorably to her as a woman.

∞ ∞ ∞

Friday as a woman was more like two days as a woman: a day as a woman at work and a day as a woman outside of work.

Outside work, I felt like an invisible woman passing unnoticed among the civilians. When I interfaced with civilians like the sales associates at Dress Barn and Macy's, they treated me like a female customer. I sometimes suspect and detect that such treatment is due to the $ in the word cu$tomer, but on Friday I think the treatment was genuine. At least it appeared genuine to me and that is what counts.

At work, everyone knows me as a guy the rest of the work year who does a good job looking like a woman one day of the year. Five co-workers know what's really up, but I don't know what the other 70 people think.

Comments like “you look too good” or “you do it too well” infer that they suspect something is going on beyond a Halloween costume. And those are just the folks like our CEO on Friday, who are vocal to my face about it. Others probably have similar opinions, but keep their thoughts to themselves or amongst themselves.

Whatever their thoughts, they all seem fine with me. I have an excellent relationship with everyone in my office and that probably has made it easier for them to accept me (or put up with me) during my one day per year fling as a woman.

So why do I do it?

Of course, I love doing it, but there is a small ray of hope that someday I will be able to go to work (and go everywhere else) as a woman all the time. My Halloween fling is a test for me and my co-workers for when that wonderful day finally arrives and I think we all passed. 

Wearing Boston Proper

Dick Wesson femulating in the 1953 film Calamity Jane.