tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3372432081562643074.post7122285373557533560..comments2024-03-28T23:10:11.954-04:00Comments on Femulate: Gulag GurlsStanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10259788604423472207noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3372432081562643074.post-39284993039770491392020-06-25T11:22:28.309-04:002020-06-25T11:22:28.309-04:00I entered something yesterday that had what I'...I entered something yesterday that had what I'll call "memory-related" errors. I pointer out that Roberta Cowell, possibly the first successful MtoF transwoman was in ma POW camp when she was "Roberta" and asked to play females in the POWs theatre shows. I decided to look back at her and found I had read the book even farther back than I thought. Her book came out in 1955 and I read it shortly after it was released. By the time I was in high school I had found a newsstand that had quite a lot of CD/TG mags and books. That was about 63 years ago. The other POWs approached "him" to grow her hair and play female roles but she declined, not wanting them to assume she was homosexual. I'm sure what I wrote implied she had participated,, but my frayed memories failed me. But shortly after the WWII she pursued her strong feeling that she was meant to be a woman and had the very experimental surgery in the 1940's. No doubt Stana chose not to post my mistaken recollection. MikkiBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17776593599337986303noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3372432081562643074.post-68089956357640990382020-06-24T10:17:20.771-04:002020-06-24T10:17:20.771-04:00I already mentioned the transwoman, Roberta Cowell...I already mentioned the transwoman, Roberta Cowell, who was encouraged to let her hair grow in a POW camp to play female parts in their plays. The British have that very long tradition of men playing the female part on the stage. When Charles II allowed women to act on the stage the male actresses simply moved to the next tier down and continued to perform as women in the music halls. There was no stigma attached to men playing women. <br /><br />The Brits had an "all men on board": approach to fighting the Nazis.So there were many gays in the war effort. They had harsh laws about homosexual activity which were put on hold for the duration of the war. Of course they hounded them to death after the war -- Alan Turing, who might well have been the single most important person bringing the end of the war, was the most visible example of this. But in the war, knowing the troops needed some respite from time to time, they had entertainment troupes, which were loaded with female impersonators. Here's a link to a troupe from New Zealand who performed for ANZUS troops throughout the war. I have the impression they were NOT hounded like their British counterparts after the war. https://digitalnz.org/stories/5a03a63a1257575ebf00085eMikkiBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17776593599337986303noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3372432081562643074.post-33114496970666602842020-06-24T08:20:14.338-04:002020-06-24T08:20:14.338-04:00In the book "King Rat" by James Clavell ...In the book "King Rat" by James Clavell a female impersonator had quite a major role. "She" became so wrapped in her alternative identity that she committed suicide when the camp was liberated rather than go back to being a male.joanne askewhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12512594779172929935noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3372432081562643074.post-19297947620536320772020-06-24T01:21:25.715-04:002020-06-24T01:21:25.715-04:00Wow that's fascinating! So many questions, mos...Wow that's fascinating! So many questions, most importantly why did their captors allow it and even let the impersonators take much of their old costumes? Might they have felt "feminising" their captives made them more docile and easier to control?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com