First you say you won't and then you will... Lest anyone think I have
nothing else on my mind (and some of you doubt I even have that), I'm
starting this month's column on a subject other than IFGE... the Texas
"T" Party. For those of you who missed this year's T, you might have
heard this was the last one. According to a press release handed out at the
T and signed by Linda and Cynthia Phillips, "... your hostesses are
tired!" and so they decided this was to be the last T. However, according
to my spy... err... news network (they're everywhere, they're
everywhere), the Sam'nEric of the transgender set have changed their
collective mind and I'm hardly surprised. The T is a gold mine generating,
by conservative estimates, between $10,000 and $15,000 profit each event. I
sure wouldn't want to give that up if the T were my event. Maybe if the
Phillips do throw in the towel, the original T sponsors would consider
reviving the event under its original aegis. Stay tuned for the latest
developments on the 1997 Tentative T Party.
Okay, now comes the IFGE stuff. Early last month, the Chair of the
IFGE Fund Raising Committee, Sharon Saypen, sent out a letter asking
for donations to help stock the "new" IFGE bookstore. Excuse me...
new? IFGE has been selling books since 1989. I know. They buy my
books for resale. So, what happened to the money they made from selling the
books they already had in stock? And, if they can't turn a profit selling
what they have now, what makes them think they'll turn a profit with a
larger inventory? I don't know about you, but I get tired of listening to
IFGE beg for money every year and every year it's a new excuse. Since its
inception, this community has poured close to $2,000,000 into IFGE. Over
the past year IFGE raised over $40,000 in membership fees and slashed its
employee costs by almost another $40,000. So, I have to wonder, where is
all the money going? It's time IFGE came clean about its financial health.
It's time for IFGE to publish its Profit and Loss and Balance sheets. By
law, this is public information. As dues paying members, you and I have a
right to know this information.
If your money is burning a hole in your pocket and you just have to
make a donation, let me make some suggestions (and if you make them before
April 15, you might be able to deduct them from your 1995 taxes). Charity
starts at home, so give money to your local organization first. That's
where it will do the most direct good. Next, send some money to
GenderPAC c/o PO Box 229, Waltham, MA 02154. Finally, send some
money to ICTLEP at PO Drawer 35477, Houston, TX 77235. As you read
last month, ICTLEP has opened an office and really needs some cash.
Cyber-this. Cyber-that. CyberQueen! Everybody and everything is getting
into the "cyber" act, so it comes as no surprise that cyber-cosmetics have
entered the scene. Yes, girls, L'Oréal announces Cybershine,
its latest color line for spring which is all pink and glossy. For you UNIX
gurus: <$rm cybershine >.
If you think that cosmetics and the companies that produce them are
frivolous, consider this. L'Oréal made a takeover bid for
Memphis based Maybelline to the tune of $600 million. Maybelline is
the all time champ when it comes to mascara sales. Its Great Lash mascara
in the pink and green container is used by virtually every major makeup
artist in the U.S. And, even while it's being snapped up by another
company, Maybelline has just introduced Great Finish nail polish which
claims "Wet to set in 2 minutes flat." Now that's a major accomplishment.
Revlon isn't sitting on it laurels either. It's just launched two
new Spring palettes called "In The Flesh," in both deep and pale tones.
Personally I prefer the deep tones. It takes a very feminine face to pull
of the no-makeup makeup look.
More on makeup and money... Cosmetic Queen, Estée Lauder, is
rolling in it. The privately held company went public last November and the
market sharks snapped it up. Since then Lauder has reported second quarter
earning of over $58 million. Netscape move over.
Faced with having to replace supermodel Cindy Crawford on MTV's
House of Style, it takes not one, but two non-super models: Amber
Valetta and Shalom Harlow. Who?
The HOT BUZZ on shoes for Spring is the return of the Spectator Pump. But
the newest "specs" bear little resemblance to their sisters of yore.
They're clunky and plain ugly. Why can't I just find a nice looking
Spectator with a 2 inch heel and no ankle strap?
Do the name Max Factor ring a familiar note? How about Dean
Factor? No? Well, Dean is the 31 year-old great-grandson of Max, he
that virtually created the cosmetics industry and the most celebrated
makeup artist in the U.S. Factor The Younger has created his own cosmetics
line, SmashBox Beauty, for release mid-month. Targeted initially at
makeup professionals, SmashBox is expected to make it to department store
shelves by late Fall. Watch for it.
Perhaps taking a cue from the recent awards handed out by Renaissance
Gretaer Philadelphia to female role models (a.k.a The Rennis),
Glamour magazine handed out Glammie Awards to Hollywood films
of 1995. Nominees for the Burt Reynolds Flip Your Lid Award were
Shelley Long in the Brady Bunch Movie, Anne Bancroft in Home
For The Holidays, Robert Duval in The Scarlet Letter, Jim
Carey in Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls, and Sly Stallone in
Assassins. And, the winner is: Wesley Snipes in To Wong Foo...
Speaking of drag movies, The Birdcage, a remake of La Cage Aux
Folles with Robin Williams and Nathan Lane has been a huge
hit and is getting great national reviews. Seems America does love drag.
Nationally known for his outstanding reputation as a sex educator,
Renaissance board member Dr. William Stayton, has been asked to
testify as an expert witness in the ACLU court challenge of the
Communications Decency Act which criminalizes "indecent" speech on
the Internet. Fear of the CDA has caused some content providers to shut
down their web sites, while others sneer at the law. A federal judge has
issued an injunction against prosecution by the Justice Department until
the court rules on the constitutionality of the law. Content providers like
the Safer Sex Page, the AIDS Education Network, Stop Prisoner Rape, the
Queer Resources Directory, Apple Computer, America On-Line and others have
joined the ACLU lawsuit. If the CDA is upheld, many of the web sites with
information about transgender behavior could shut down. Congress passed the
CDA so they could go home and tell constituents they protected their
children from smut on the Internet, knowing full well the law is
unconstitutional. It's election year and politicians will do anything to
get reelected.
And while I'm on the subject of election year, are you as scared of Pat
Buchanan as I am? I mean, puhleeze! The best line I've heard about Pat
The Hun is: "His speeches sound better in the original German." And there's
this apocryphal story of the homeless man who approached Buchanan in New
Hampshire and said he had not eaten in three days. Pat supposedly replied,
"I wish everyone had your self-discipline."
The Republicans decry the moral decay of society and a cosmetics company
rises to claim the honor. Urban Decay features lipsticks with names
like Asphyxia and Smog that coordinate with their nail enamels with names
like Frostbite, Bruise, and Mildew. Spurred by the blood-black success of
Chanel's Vamp, Urban Decay is the in thing. Bruise, the
reddish-purple polish is the most popular at $9 a bottle. You'll find Urban
Decay at, where else, Urban Outfitters, and Nordstrom, or
call 800-784-urban.
According to the Fashion Workshop in the April issue of Glamour,
definitely out are shoulder duster earrings and patterned hose of any kind.
We can tell the editors at Glamour don't hang with Drag Queens. How could
we possible do without our shoulder dusters and who among us doesn't
treasure her fishnets? Well, I've got news for them, the Spring fashions on
the runway have their share of faux pas, like: frills on everything;
clothes so sheer nothing is left hidden; skirts so long you'll trip on the
hems; and clothes so bare they're only good for summer.
What's up with Fredericks's of Hollywood? Maybe they've finally
caught on that more men buy their clothes and lingerie than women. After
all, a woman has to have a near perfect body to even think about wearing
Freddie's clothes in public. They only place I've ever seen these clothes
are at TV conventions. So, the latest catalog arrives (yes, I get it) and
more than 60% of the clothes are now available in "Plus" sizes. Enticed by
such offerings, I placed an order. I'm still waiting after almost two
months because what I wanted was out of stock the day the catalog arrived.
Perhaps it's not just Frederick's that is specifically catering to men.
Victoria's Secret is being sued by a woman for discrimination. Seems
the lady received a Vicky's catalog touting a 10 percent discount off her
order, while her boyfriend received the same exact catalog except his
offered a 25 percent discount.
Anne Blackwood replied to my jibe about Nielson and Stallone last month:
"Brigitte Nielson couldn't possibly be Sly Stallone in drag. She's too tall
... barefoot. I met her once, when I auditioned for Cobra. For some reason
she was sitting in on the casting sessions. I had no idea who she was, just
thought, "There's a rather attractive blonde." Should there be a TS Rocky
movie would they call it Rocky XX or Rocky XY?
So, those are my opinions, but, hey, what do I know? I think it's indecent
the way some organizations beg for money. It's better to give than receive.
Comments? Email them to TheBitch@cdspub.com.
© 1996 by Creative Design Services.
Since I lost my companion here (Kalina got "kicked upstairs" with her
own column), I feel that the readers deserved a little more than just the
hot buzz stuff. So, I went digging in my archives and I'll be posting
editorials and essays from past writings, updated for today's issues. What
follows is the first of several editorials on political activism. If you
like this part of Chatsubo, let me knowJoAnn Roberts.
Political Activism
I want to talk about a more serious subject, politics. Oh, I hear you groan, but you must listen because everything we've worked to achieve is being threatened. Pick up any newspaper and look at what's going on around you. Do you remember how The National Endowment for the Arts was held for ransom by right-wing fundamentalists because Jesse Helms didn't like Robert Mapplethorpe's sexual images. The recording industry was being bludgeoned by the Parent's Music Resource Center to label records with stickers noting. "objectionable language." Members of the rap group 2 Live Crew were arrested on obscenity charges because their album, As Nasty As They Wanna Be, was deemed obscene by a Florida State Supreme Court.
Want more? The right of a woman to choose whether or not to have an abortion is under massive attack in almost every state. The Federal Supreme Court ruled that the Right to Privacy does not extend to same sex, consenting adults in their own bedroom, and Congress has enacted the Communications Decency Act [CDA] which will try to muzzle the Internet and make it "safe" for children. (Hey, kid, what are you doin' readin' this stuff?)
So what does all that have to do with crossdressing? Every thing! In every case above, someone is trying to control what you see, what you hear, what you read and what you do. Personal freedom is under an unrelenting assault by people who know better than you do what's best for you. Your Right to Free Speech is about to be canned.
These zealous guardians of our moral fiber have succeed far too often for my taste. We're in deep fundamentalist shit and most of us haven't a clue how we got here. It was a short step from records and art to the Internet. And, if they can make the CDA stick on the net, believe me, magazines and books aren't too far behind. If "they" decideTGForum has "no redeeming social value," Bang! We're gone. If "they" decide that no one has the right to control what they do with their own body, then any family of a transsexual who disagrees with that transsexual's choice for reassignment can stop the operation.
Come on people. Wake up and smell the coffee. Do you think that Human Rights and Civil Rights are someone else's problem? Better think again and start to do something. Ah, I knew you'd say, "Like what?" Well, how about this:
Don't just sit there looking pretty. And don't come crying to me when you get canned from your job because you are a [pick one: crossdresser; transgenderist; transsexual ]. Get off your fat butt and do something positive for yourself. Go over to Political Writes and read about what's going on in the community. Then get busy.
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