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Index of Contents The Queen's Throne A Queen Visits the King Left of Center Behind Blue Eyes Interview with That Girl Ally McBeal's botched transgender tale |
January 10 Meeting:
7pm. We will be having a discussion on relationships. Please note that meetings in winter may be subject to cancellation due to snow.***
Future Meetings:
February 14 (Valentine's Day): Transgender and the Law
March 14: Talent Show (Not a Contest!!!)
April 11: Board Elections (Get involved!)
May 9: Spring Cookout
June 13: Holly Boswell, Phoenix TG Support (Asheville, NC)
October 10: Halloween Party
December 12: 6th Annual Anniversary/Holiday Party
Tennessee Vals Special Events:
Saturday, January 31, Mid-Winter's Night Party Fundraiser for The Center for GLBT Life in Nashville
Saturday, February 14, Room at the Inn, 703 Berry Road. Take food items for the homeless.
Thursday, June 11, Transgender Mixer Holly Boswell, Phoenix TG Support (Asheville, NC)
Highlights from the December Meeting: Our Fifth Anniversary/Holiday Party at the Hilton was a great success. We had 39 people turn out for the event. The night was filled with great food, live music, reindeer and elves, and great conversation. Special thanks to Linda Buten , Board Chair of IFGE, for making the journey to Nashville to be our keynote speaker. Also thanks to all those who drove in from Atlanta to join us. Thanks also to the Hilton Inn Suites for having us. Thanks also to all those involved in planning and coordinating the banquet and the program.
Vals Board Meetings:
January 22, February 26, March 26, 7pm at the Center for Gay, Lesbian, Bi, and Transgendered Life in Nashville, 703 Berry Rd., (615) 297-0008. Board meetings are open to all members, so join us and get involved!
The Queen's Throne
By Marisa Richmond
I would like to start 1998 by offering my personal thanks to Linda Buten, Co-Founder of CrossPort and the Board Chair of IFGE, for her wonderful keynote address at the banquet in December.
Recently, Linda and I have been at the center of a major controversy. As I mentioned previously, the boards of AEGIS, IFGE, and Renaissance began discussion of a possible merger, but before the Feasibility Study committee could meet, the board of Renaissance voted to withdraw. Since I criticized Renaissance in this newsletter last month, and I do not want this column to become associated with Renaissance bashing, I decided to make additional remarks in the Renaissance newsletter, News and Views. If you are interested in them, I suggest you purchase a copy of their January issue (P.O. Box 60552, King of Prussia, PA 19406- 0552, $5) and see if they are published.
I would, however, like to offer some positive comments about one Renaissance columnist, Dina Amberle. She regularly offers insightful reviews of other newsletters around the country. In her December column, she takes the folks in the Erie Sisters (Erie, PA) to task for a newsletter she terms "the world's worst in the disciplines of spelling and grammar." While I have not seen this particular effort, I have seen others often butcher the English language. As we become increasingly visible in society, our newsletters represent all of us as hundreds of individuals all across North America express their heartfelt concerns over various issues that affect transgendered persons and our significant others. Some newsletter editors may adopt a "no changes" policy, especially for Letters to the Editor, but the regular columnists offer outsiders the first true peek into this community. When I see others who are linguistically challenged, I cringe because it is hard to articulate legitimate concerns when one cannot express themselves intelligently. I, therefore, challenge all to improve the quality of their writing. I am not asking anyone to change the content of their columns, but at least learn how to spell and form a basic sentence and paragraph before you start writing or publishing others who cannot do so. And Dina, honey, while you're watching for grammatical errors, see what you can do about factual errors. You can start with your own newsletter. In November, your own Executive Director and Newsletter Editor, Angela Gardner, referred to when "The British menaced D.C. way back in the Revolution..." As any first grader should know, when the War for American Independence took place, the District of Columbia did not exist! We could actually discuss these issues directly on a regular basis IF I ever got my wristradio and magic decoder ring....
The evolution within the gender community continues. In early December, the board of AEGIS accepted the resignation of Dallas Denny as Executive Director, effective at the beginning of April. In the meantime, applications for a new Executive Director are being accepted by me (P.O. Box 92335, Nashville, TN 37209) and Gianna Israel, the Vice Chair of the AEGIS Board (P.O. Box 424447, San Francisco, CA 94142). I also wish to say that Dallas, who has been controversial at times, has also been one of the most articulate and intelligent and hard working leaders of the gender community. She is not retiring, just resigning the Directorship of AEGIS, so we can all expect her to continue her wonderful contributions in the future.
As everyone knows by now, I spent a good part of 1997 on the road. At times I felt as if I was 2000 Light Years From Home. I expect to travel a lot less this year. While the world's biggest sporting event will be taking place this summer in France, I will not accompany Uncle Sam's Army there. It could get interesting, especially since Argentina's team is allowed to have sex, although I doubt previous bans ever stopped Diego Maradona. I do intend to make it to one convention this year: Southern Comfort in Atlanta. In addition, I am likely to visit one or two local support groups in other communities when it fits my busy schedule (April: Indianapolis; August: Washington), so I do not intend to remain Nashville bound all year.
The new year does offer some intriguing moments of importance to the gender community. The first is this very month. At the end of January, people of all stripes will be congregating in homes and bars around the country to share in the most uniquely American of experiences: Bud Bowl. I would just love to see how the Bud Light Ladies celebrate in the event their heroes--with their sweaty, long....necks--actually emerge victorious. Later in the year are the mid-term elections. The only major statewide race here in Tennessee is for governor, which at this time appears to be a foregone conclusion, but we do have plenty of Congressional, Legislative, and other races to decide, plus our neighbors in both Kentucky and Alabama will also be voting. We should all look for candidates who will support equality for all and reject discrimination against any.
Did you realize this month's newsletter represents the Fifth anniversary of this publication? The earliest efforts were terrible since they were handled by one who is computer illiterate: Me. Fortunately, others, with less of a social life than me, volunteered to pick up this responsibility and were willing to use their imagination to produce this newsletter. Since Jenni has already announced that she is not planning to run for re-election as Publications Coordinator in April, I just want to take this time to thank Jenni for her wonderful work over the past 3 1/2 years. I just hope for all of our sakes that the person willing to run and fill her shoes will do an equally good job.
As long as I am singing Jenni's praises, she has obviously also done a fantastic job with the Web site. Personally, I spend little time on the Internet. I get bored with chat lines since I prefer doing my socializing with a cocktail in hand and loud dance music or a show in front of me while listening to inane pick-up lines. Furthermore, as anyone with any brains can attest, the Usenet groups like alt.transgendered are incredibly trashy and generally useless--especially since so much bad advice is distributed. Still, I do surf from time to time seeing what is out there. You can imagine my surprise when I visited our Web site and saw the updated counter reported an average of 6000 hits a month. I assumed we were getting a few hundred, so seeing it was over six thousand absolutely astounded me. I then started thinking about all you Lurkers out there who visit our site each month. Those who attend meetings, or subscribe to the paper version, which is much more extensive than the electronic one, are at least providing financial support for the Vals. During the course of a year, the money we raise allows us to do many things here. We donate to other local and national charities--including over $300 we gave to the mother of the late Christian Paige to help pay Christian's funeral expenses. We cover the expenses for out- of-town speakers. We sponsor a Transgender Mixer every June during Pride Week which is free of charge to the public. We take a loss on the Anniversary/Holiday Party every December to keep it affordable. We can even provide money to underwrite expenses for anyone less than affluent who wishes to travel to a convention (provided the funds are approved by the Board in advance). This Web site is one of the many services we provide free of charge. The least you could do is show your gratitude with a small donation. If each of you 6000 Lurkers sent in just $1 per year as a way of saying "thanks," it would allow us to provide even more diverse, educational, and entertaining services throughout the year about which we could then write in these pages.
Recently, five members of the Vals made our first official presentation to the Vanderbilt Lambda Association. Although we (actually, just me) had spoken twice previously at the Southeastern GLB Student Conference when it was hosted by Vanderbilt, we had never before visited a regular Lambda meeting. We discussed the history of the Vals, the transgender community and our concerns, as well as personal stories that helped enlighten the young women and men who attended. It was a pleasure to meet them and we look forward to continued exchanges.
There has also been a lot happening in the media. Much has already been said about The Drew Carey Show when Drew's brother revealed he is a crossdresser, and Drew mistakenly assumed gays are protected from being fired from their jobs. Unfortunately, if ENDA does pass Congress in its current manifestation, it would end job discrimination against gays, but would still permit discrimination against CDs and TSs. That is an issue the show should raise in the future. On December 9, HBO ran an entertaining special America Undercover: Dragtime. This show concentrated on the drag scenes of New York and Atlanta (with Tennessee natives, Miss "Lady" Bunny and Charlie Brown featured quite prominently). Then, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil was released in time for the busy holiday season. As of this writing, I have not seen the film. I have read mixed reviews of it in several different publications, but it is worth mentioning that virtually all reviewers praise The Lady Chablis for lighting up the screen during her appearances. Some are even suggesting she might get an Oscar nomination. I assume it would be for Best Supporting Actress.
And as long as I am talking about media, I wish to say goodbye to one of the most insightful shows on television: MTV's House of Style,. The last original episode aired on December 16, but it should still be around in reruns.
I would also like to recognize Phil, a clerk at Tower Books (2404 West End Avenue). He had a caption on the employee board that read, "I wish I looked like Xena." I can relate.
GO VOLS!....And Washington State too!
Wigged Out
By Jennileigh Love
From the Love Shack
Happy new year everyone and welcome to 1998. For me, this year will mark 10 years out of the state- sponsored institute of conformity known as high school. Yes, that does date me properly. I haven't heard about any planned reunions yet, but I can assure you that if there is one, I plan to go to it and screw with as many minds as possible. I already know of one classmate that is openly bisexual, and I have to wonder who else ended up exploring alternative lifestyles. It will be interesting to see the changes wrought by a decade. (In my case I think they've been for the better!)
Things have been busy as of late at the Love Shack (hey, where do you think I live?). I recently got a call from Dr. Bill Turner (our guest speaker in November '97) of Nashville's Lesbian and Gay Coalition for Justice about participating with them in diversity training with the Metro Police Department. While I have not encountered Metro Police while dressed femme, I thought it was a good opportunity to at least educate the police about transgendered people. I got out of bed early that Saturday morning so I could be at the police station at 60 Peabody Street by 8am. We spoke about 30 minutes, then answered questions for an hour or so. All the police officers in the classroom were attentive and showed us respect. Let me tell all of you reading this, if you are pulled over by Metro or any other police officer while you are crossdressed, be completely honest with the officer. Do not try to convince him or her that you are anything but who you are on your drivers' license. Let me assure you that the police officer may be a little taken back at first, but will get on with his business with no concern as to how you are dressed. If you're up to something illegal, well, that's your problem, isn't it?
Recently I got email from someone who wasn't exactly a Vals supporter. He asked how I could rationalize transsexuality as a way of life, when it's all our own choice to be this way, and said that we weren't important because there's only a few of us. Many of you can obviously see how unenlightened this person was. In an attempt to turn on a few bulbs (or at least light a candle) in his head, I attempted to respond to this email. The mail came back undeliverable; the person's email account had moved or been canceled. It's amazing to me the lengths to which some people will go to be cowardly. And what the heck was he doing reading a web page on transgendered issues if he wasn't interested in it? We all know that you have to actively seek information on the web to find it. Just like at the local bookstore, the Playboys are there, but you don't have to look at them. It's difficult to accidentally stumble upon a web page about transgender issues (unless our web page is more ubiquitous than I thought).
In local news, entertaintress Bianca Paige will no longer be performing at The Connection. However, she is not leaving Nashville or retiring. Bianca (Mark Middleton) will still be around, performing in other local clubs. Bianca was a guest speaker at a Vals meeting some time ago, and is extremely talented and funny, and a nice person on top of everything. The Connection has quite a void to fill. Also, I want to thank Linda Buten for making the drive to Nashville to join us for our Holiday Banquet. And while some people leave their heart in San Francisco, I've never heard of anyone leaving their ass in Nashville. :)
A Queen visits The King
Elvis might be dead, but his cash flow goes on. In December, I paid a visit to Memphis for business purposes. I took advantage of the trip to visit Graceland for the first time ever. In case you were wondering, yes, I did dress femme for the occasion! From the 15-foot long couch, to the Jungle Room, to the TV Room and the 80- foot long hall of gold records, this gal wound her way though the halls where The King lived (and died). I also saw the piano in near the racquetball court where he played his last song before he died (Unchained Melody,). In contrast to the throngs of minions you see on television milling past his grave, the mansion and grounds were relatively empty, and that night I stood over his grave alone. It was almost eerie and I half expected to see his ghost still wandering the halls. I recently heard a rumor that Lisa Marie is moving back into the mansion and closing it to the public. I can't stand to think that the shag carpet and tacky 70s furniture might be rendered from this home. Graceland, whether Lisa Marie likes it or not, is a historic home, and tampering with it would be unfair to the millions of Elvis fans.
Elvis' role as a gender bender has been studied closely in Marjorie Garber's book Vested Interests. Elvis was said to have worn mascara to his appearance at the Grand Ole Opry. Later in his career his sequined Aztec Sun and American Eagle jumpsuits made him seem more like Liberace than the suave rocker of his early career. He was also rumored to have stuffed his pants to further enthrall his female fans. Along the tour, I couldn't help but wonder what Elvis would think if he knew a trannie was walking around his home. The King himself answered that question for me. There was a display in the trophy room citing one of his favorite quotes: "Don't judge that man. You've never walked in his shoes." I'm proud to have walked where his shoes stepped. I've always been a fan of the King. If I can change the world a fraction of how much he did, I think I will have done well.
While in Memphis, I just happened to stay at a (heartbreak) hotel with HBO and caught the documentary America Undercover: Dragtime. It was a fun frolic into the world of female impersonators. Featured performers were Jem Jender, Varla Jean Merman (the self-described offspring of Ethel Merman and Earnest Borgnine), Candis Cayne, Miss Understood, Miss Lady Bunny (Wigstock), Lypsinka, Charles Busch, Charles Pierce, Joey Arias and Atlanta's own Charlie Brown. The documentary avoided any real discussion of transgender issues. I couldn't help but notice that the drag queens were not in drag for the more "serious" interviews. This was probably done for the "shock value" of seeing the men beneath the makeup, but to me it seemed as if their drag queen selves were not taken seriously.
That's it for this month, folks. Jennileigh has left the building! Thankyouverymuch!
Left of Center
By Pamela DeGroff
Well, hey, you survived the holidays-good for you. Of course you gained 11 pounds over Thanksgiving, you won't have Christmas paid for until July, and there's 47 people you personally owe an apology to because of your behavior New Years Eve. But hey, you did survive- you are here.
Welcome to the New Year. I guess the question really is-what are we going to do with it? Does this mean we're going to talk about Resolutions? Perhaps. I guess it really depends on how soul-searchingly subjective you want to get. Each of us knows what we did and did not accomplish this past year. We all have a little shopping list of things that need work. So, with that in mind, I don't wish to preach to anyone about what they need to do. Instead, I want to share with you what my own goals are for this year. I'm doing this because I need your moral support to help me stay focused.
On a personal level, I have two main goals. The first is to solve the Continuing DeGroff Financial Crisis. I'm still struggling with the residue of being laid off last year and not having any real income for two months. This has really slowed my wardrobe enhancement activities. Thank God for my drag mom Rachell and her hand-me-downs.
My other goal is very personal. I write a lot about my daughter Sara. But I also have a son, Daniel, who is six years old. In case you're wondering, both kids are by the same woman We had a tendency to take our time and think things through before making decisions.
Daniel was about a year old when my ex and I got divorced. She moved back to Indiana and got re- married. However, she re-married outside her species to an Indiana Inbred, Monosyllabic Knuckle Dragger-(i.e. Northern Bubba.)
Sara tries to spend as much time with Daniel as she can. She told me about one visit where the two of them played a game, and she beat him. Daniel got upset about it and started pouting.
"Girls aren't supposed to beat boys," he whined.
"Who told you that?" Sara asked.
"That's what Denny says." Denny is the aforementioned Inbred in question.
Sara dealt with it gracefully, but felt I needed to know about this. I'm not too pleased to see my son being raised by a misogynistic Bubba. I've got to re-establish my place in his life. It's not going to be easy, and I know there will be sacrifice on my part, but I need to do this. Alright, so much for Pamela's Personal Purgatory. On an entirely different level, I'm really looking forward to this year. The Transgendered community here in Nashville is in a very unique position. We are being included in things that affect the entire LesBiGay family.
I'm looking forward to what can be accomplished this year with the new cable TV show , GLBTV I know we've been talking about this for months, and nothing has materialized yet. When you're dealing with an all volunteer organization, you're also dealing with everyone's crazy schedules. Add to the fact we are using borrowed equipment, and the studio and editing facilities are in two different locations. Please stay tuned, we plan to be on the air by the end of January.
The Mid-Winters Night Fundraiser for the Center is something I'm very proud to be involved with. I was never aware how much work goes into planning a community wide event of this size. I am also starting to draw more on my past as a musician. I've started to play live again with a guitarist named Rachell Willhite. You'll be seeing more of us as the year progresses.
As I wrote in a previous column, Transgendered people are here to stay, we're not going anywhere. And I'm extremely grateful for the opportunities we're being given here in Nashville. Because of this, I plan to be involved in some of the lobbying efforts the Coalition will be doing on the communities behalf. Transgendered people have a stake in the politics that shape our lives, and I feel we need to be represented. I'll be writing more about this as things transpire.
That's it for now, girlfriends. We're going to have a great year.
Behind Blue Eyes
By Anne Casebeer
It's no secret that I write a lot of stuff. I thoroughly enjoy the ebb and flow of the American Midwestern dialect of the English language; for the most part, manipulating the written word is pretty easy for me. If I have a good subject, an article flows out without too much difficulty. Just fire up WordPerfect 7, or maybe Microsoft Word 97, and let it happen. I don't even use the spellchecker; my ability to write was the only skill that made it possible for me to fake studiousness long enough to obtain a degree, and my spellchecker doesn't recognize "transgender" or "crossdresser" as words, anyway. Today, instead, I'm seated at the computer in my basement, beneath the poster of Ralph Steadman's obscene illustrations from Hunter S. Thompson's "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas", Bob Dylan's "Empire Burlesque" on the turntable, thinking about the Holiday Banquet and wrestling with my emotions once again. One nice feature of hanging out with transgendered people is the fact that you don't have to hide your feelings; you can give someone a hug, or shed a tear, and nobody will force you to drive your emotions back into their Cancerian shell in a misguided attempt at being macho. As we know, acting is hard work, and after partying the night away and working 7 hours today merchandising my store, I don't care whether anyone minds that I'm shedding tears at my terminal at midnight on a Sunday night; I'm going to let the words, thoughts, emotions, and tears flow. Be assured, the tears have nothing to do with the fact that my knees are killing me after a night spent in 3" stiletto heels.
I hope all of you enjoyed the banquet and subsequent partying as much as I did, but it was the symbol for me of a really special year of my life, one I hope can continue and flourish for a bit longer. When I walked into the Hilton for the 1996 banquet, I did so after going shopping femme for the first time, not to mention the first time I'd walked into a hotel lobby while wearing a formal dress. Since then, gallons of water have passed through my life's spillway. I can't imagine being the shaky 320-pounder in ill-fitting shoes and a huge sequined tent anymore, let alone one who sat in the parking lot of the Hilton, listening to Van Halen at maximum volume in an attempt to work up the nerve to strut into that lobby, but darn it, I was. Whatever possessed me to team up with a couple transfolk from Kentucky to start the Bluegrass Belles a couple weeks after that banquet? How on earth did I board an airplane for Washington, DC a couple months' later, and walk into the Russell Senate Office Building crossdressed to lobby Congress? How did I drop 100 pounds from my 6' frame? I was asked to speak to another gender group on political lobbying in May, and did so, all the time wondering just how it was that anyone would consider me to be an expert on anything unrelated to the video business or the music of Jethro Tull, let alone people on the high level of the folks I met in Columbus. Since then, I've spoken to a group of school counselors on the subject of transgenderism and how to deal with young people who might have the need to crossdress. I managed to sneak the subject into a seminar I taught at a video trade show, then attended a party at a fancy casino in full femme regalia. I attended 2 gender conventions, and met a bunch of people that seemed to think I was OK, and that had heard of me, and found them to be pretty cool as well; in fact, I performed in the talent shows at each one, although I don't claim to be the most talented singer in the world. The best answer I can give is that it all came naturally, with a certain rightness and flow that made doing things I had only dreamed of, like going to ballgames and rock concerts, as easy as could be. This was inside me all along, and the only regret was that I didn't find the way out a few years previously.
What makes me become all emotional inside are the amazing people I've met in the transgendered world. The fact that some of these folks would conspire to grant me the award that I am now staring at, which for purposes of brevity I will dub the "Golden Closet Doorknob" is testament to their caring, intellect, and sense of humor. The moment that Jennileigh started speaking of how she'd received an email from someplace north, I was denying to myself that anyone would possibly think me worthy of anything like this, and my heart went to my throat. I wish I'd had a better speech prepared, but had I known that anything like this was forthcoming, I'd have expressed serious reservations about the collective sanity of the Vals' board. Suffice it to say that you managed to catch me totally by surprise. Nowadays, I don't have to belong to a transgender group to be out in the world crossdressed, we now have a viable group in Kentucky, and I also belong to CrossPort. Despite this, I'm going to remain an active member of this group for as long as it will have me, and the reason is threefold: one, I like helping to nurture a living, breathing, growing entity; two, I look forward each month to visiting my friends and being ourselves with no pretenses; and three, I want to be there for anyone who resembles me a year ago. A bit over a year ago, I made it down to Nashville, knowing that if I didn't find others like me, or come to some kind of peace with the fact that I liked girls and looking like one at the same time, I'd be more than flirting with disaster. Disaster has certainly crossed my mind at many times in my past. Thanks to the Tennessee Vals, and others I met thereafter, I not only escaped disaster, but have flourished. This group didn't solve my problems, or cure me of anything; rather, it gave me the tools to fix my own head and do as I please. A support group cannot open the closet door for you, but it can slip the key under the door, and you have to choose to insert it into the lock and turn it for yourself. Once you've made that move, well, don't be surprised if you end up like me, doing things you only wondered if you'd ever do, helping others unlock the door, and perhaps singing "You're So Vain" at a straight karaoke bar in Middletown, Kentucky on a Saturday night while wearing a black dress...Ah, couldn't resist.
Freedom and Mascara!
Anne Casebeer
A Mid-Winter's Night
By Pamela DeGroff
In homes throughout Middle Tennessee, on a night in the middle of winter - Saturday, January 31 - women and men will gather for a feast with friends; for fellowship, laughter and conversation. Then, they will journey to Cheekwood Botanical Hall and join others for a Grand Dessert Party, complete with an evening of sweet, rich entertainment and dance. this is the Mid- Winter's Night, a fund raiser for the Center's Capital Fund Campaign.
The event will begin in private homes and participating restaurants. Guests will enjoy dinner provided by the host. Following dinner will be the activities at Cheekwood.
The Center, located at 703 Berry Road in Nashville, was the T. Vals meeting site until we outgrew it. If you have ever been there, you realize that the current facility is not big enough to handle all the meetings and events that are scheduled for it. The parking lot holds only 10-12 cars, and there are only three small rooms available for all the groups our community has. We need a bigger space, and the Capital Fund Campaign was initiated with this goal in mind. The Center has always helped the T.Vals, and in many ways has been instrumental in our growth and acceptance in the Nashville LesBiGay community. This is an excellent opportunity for us to participate in their growth. In the long run, we'll also benefit from a larger Center.
The T. Vals own Marisa Richmond has offered to host an informal gathering. The time for this is 6pm, with the Grand Dessert Party at Cheekwood scheduled for 8 pm. The cost is a $25 donation towards the Capital Fund Campaign. This is tax deductible. There will be more information at the January meeting, or please feel free to call the T.Vals voice mail at 615/664-6883, or e-mail us at jlove1@ix.netcom.com See ya at the party!
That Girl - An Interview, Reprinted from Xenogeny, 10/6/97
Ask many a gay man and most will agree. Madonna is the diva. She croons about love, respect and acceptance. She knows that without them, life can be difficult, even intolerable at times. Yet only a few put Madonna's advice to everyday use. Perhaps no one knows this better that That Girl, a local drag performer at The Connection of Nashville.
Like Madonna, That Girl wants her audience to feel the power of love, to enter into a world without pain: "I want them to have a good time, to know that all the bullshit in life is only temporary, to wake up tomorrow knowing that we can start fresh and make a better day for ourselves."
This is a side of That Girl that few rarely see. Most everyone thinks that she's the quintessential good- time girl, who's a little silly, rarely serious - much like the original That Girl of the 1960s, Marlo Thomas.
They're dead wrong. Rather, she's the Dr. Jekyll of the drag circuit, a boy-girl blend of brooding charm and "techno-bitch" mayhem.
"Yeah, a lot of people think that I got my name from Marlo Thomas. It's probably a compliment, but I'm not always that perky. I'm simply That Girl. I can be anyone I choose to be. I used to use the name Rachel Wallace, but I don't think the name fit my personality, so I changed it to something that did, to something that allowed me freedom to have a variety of identities.
Part Debbie Harry, part Linda Evangelista, That Girl is, well, that girl. She's not the typical drag princess with sequined gowns and rhinestone tiaras.
"I don't look to other drag queens to get ideas to do drag. I look at that, (pointing to the wall of her dressing room, which is plastered with magazine covers) at Jenny McCarthy, who I used to despise, Tracy Lords, Lady Miss Kier, Madonna and Kylie Minogue, who's probably my biggest influence: she's just rad, incredibly beautiful."
She studies their faces, their style, their ability to connect with their respective audiences - imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.
Her "drag" is purely eclectic, bought mainly from thrift stores. One piece a royal-blue, nylon pullover with Chinese [It's actually Japanese - Editor] lettering, was given as a "tip" from a fan.
"I really don't, like, site all week and go and try to get new clothes made. When I sees something that I think would go perfect with a song - with how it would be the ideal visual representation of what I think should be with the music - I snatch it up. But rarely will I go shopping for drag, except when Austria [Andrews, another performer at The Connection] and I spend a lazy day at the mall."
That Girl pulls from her own collections of vinyl cat suits, stiletto cha-cha heels and wigs galore to create that look. It's a look that could be the brain child of Jean-Paul Gautier and Debbie Mazar: demure, yet demonic, cutting edge, but never trendy.
But the look is only half of the That Girl persona: "Music is the basis for my existence. It pulls me in: it makes That Girl that girl. I feel the rhythms, the beat; I live the lyrics. When I'm on stage, I want the audience to be a part of what I'm doing, of what I'm saying."
Anyone who's seen her perform knows that her routines are purely kinetic. She slinks, she slithers, she vamps, she undulates. Simply put - she's "the politically- correct sex kitten," a phrase she uses to bill herself.
That Girl's been working at The Connection for the past eleven months, since the bar's management approached her about becoming a regular cast member. "I'd come do talent during the middle of the week. I'd do Tracy Lords and bald-headed stuff - shave my head with a pony-tail glued on - trying to shock the hell out of the audience. The management kept watching me and watching me all along. But I never won - someone else always did. But still, they kept an eye on me."
"Finally, they asked me if I'd ever thought about doing drag professionally. At the time I was working full-time at Tower Records, a good job with benefits and security. Yet they persuaded me to audition for a spot as a full-time cast member. I went to The Connection of Louisville and tried out. The next week they called me and asked if I could start the following weekend. So, for a while, I worked both jobs, but it was too hectic [of] a schedule. I had to give up my job at Tower."
It was a decision that That Girl sometimes regrets, but she knows that her job at The Connection is "a cool opportunity." She has aspirations of making a career out of drag, though her vision is global, not local.
She admits to fantasizing about a James Bond girl, something along the lines of Pussy Galore, the archetypal femme fatale. She imagines herself wielding an Uzi, executing handflips across a Monte Carlo casino. She lands atop a roulette wheel, cutting her eyes towards the camera. She escapes again.
For now though, That Girl must be content with her new-found fame in Nashville. She's recently been cast in a local art-house film, along with fellow Connection entertainers, Bianca Paige and Stephanie Wells.
Though she maintains great respect for her colleagues at The Connection she finds that one in particular is her "best friend" - Austria Andrews. "We didn't like one another at first, but things soon changed. We slowly started spending more and more time together back-stage. She helped That Girl perfect her look. We started talking more and more. Now we hand out together when we're not at work. We go to movies, watch TV and basically do the same sort of thing everyone else does."
Perhaps that is the biggest misconception that straight and gay America holds. That drag performers live constantly in the limelight, that they live for drag.
"It's simply untrue. Just ask That Girl. "It's my job. It's what I am good at. But I like being a boy. I like wearing birkenstocks, riding bikes, spending time with friends. I want to have a life aside from That Girl."
But That Girl is here to stay. Ask many a gay man and most will agree, she is the diva!
By Lee Casson, Xenogeny, 10/6/97
Ally McBeal's Botched Transgender Tale
The December 1 episode of Fox's critically acclaimed new show Ally McBeal botches a major transgender storyline, despite undoubtedly earnest intentions. When Ally becomes the attorney for Stephanie (played by openly gay actor and GLAAD board member Wilson Cruz), a transgender fashion designer who has turned to sex work to pay the bills, the lawyer findsherself offering an unorthodox defense for the solicitation rap: An insanity plea based on "transvestite fetishism." While Ally makes it clear that she does not think that Stephanie is crazy, and that it is just a defense tactic, Stephanie expresses great reservations and eventually refuses the strategy, noting she left home to escape being called "sick." Still, Ally calls upon psychological "experts" to diagnose Stephanie with "gender dysphoria," and one of them says that "He's [Stephanie] more like a woman, or thinks he's one," and calls Stephanie "confused." After Ally makes a deal with the judge to postpone ruling for a year while Stephanie works at Ally's law office, Stephanie finds a largely accepting environment, though is still faced with a few insensitive remarks. But Stephanie goes back to prostitution, and is murdered by, as a cop tells Ally, "A John [who] went crazy when he found out the Jane was a guy." Ally wonders why Stephanie would go back to the streets if she had a job, but applies Stephanie's last coat of lipstick as a way of trying to honor her in death.
Throughout the episode, confusion prevails among many characters-What pronouns should be used to address Stephanie? Is transsexuality a mental disorder? Does being comformable with one's transgender identity make a person "not well?" The only one who is not confused is Stephanie, who has a clear sense of who she is. If this were the only message, the episode would have been a strong exploration of trans identity. Unfortunately, there are many unresolved assumptions which left a bad taste in the mouth of many lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people and their friends who viewed the program. Without psychologists to counter the assertion that Stephanie is "confused," the viewer is left with the impression that she may have been mentally ill because of her gender role, even if she saw it otherwise. Also, the show fails to give a larger context to the reason Stephanie returns to the streets after getting the law office job. If one knew nothing about transgender people beyond this show, it would be easy to think that the murder had been caused by Stephanie's hooking, without recognizing the real threats all transgender people-not just sex workers- face in a society that is frequently hostile and violent towards their very existence.
Please let Fox and David E. Kelley Production's know that their exploration of transgender themes is noteworthy-but that the character got lost in the show's "confusion" about how to address the larger issues of societal transphobia and reliance on the stereotypical media representation on transgender people as sad, desperate hookers.
Contact: Brett King, Programming Director, Fox Broadcasting Company, PO Box 900, Beverly Hills, CA 90213-0900, fax: 310.369.1433, e- mail: askfox@foxinc.com; David E. Kelley, Executive Producer, Ally McBeal, David E. Kelley Productions, 10201 W. Pico Blvd., #80/26, LA, CA 90035, fax: 310.369.3037.
GLAADALERT 12/5/1997, Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation