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A History of 
MagazinePart 4: End of An Era
By Ms Bob and Carol Kleinmaier
Subscribers can read Part 1
| Part 2 | Part 3
This presentation is a preliminary history of Female Mimics
magazine, which was published from 1963 to 1979. It is worth
our notice for several reasons: its ground-breaking format, large
distribution, long publishing history and, most importantly, because of
its portrayal of the gender community.
HOME GIRL
During the Jenifer Jordan years the staff included an openly transgendered
writer, Kim Christy. Unlike the editorial appointment of Pudgy
Roberts in Female Impersonators, Kim occasionally had a
real voice. At this time she was out, about, proud and quite
the ball queen.
In her first column in 1974 she debunked one of the prime public
relations tenets of professional female impersonators and earlier
editors of Female Mimics. She questioned the heterosexuality
of the performers. "I recall when ONE Institute, on a
tour of gay bars, stopped at the Queen Mary show bar in Los Angeles,
and several female impersonators there made a special point to
the group that, just because they are female impersonators, they
are not necessarily homosexuals, and, indeed, they claimed 60%
of professional female impersonators are heterosexual. I've
worked in the business before and, believe me, (Kim says) that
isn't necessarily true. I have no idea where that figure
came from." The Queen Mary performers Kim mentions were
promoting the same "party line" as the Finocchio's
cast in their 1965 letter: do everything possible to distance
yourselves from "freaks, perverts, deviates, transvestites,
lesbians, etc.." Kim's attitude is decidedly more
contemporary and post-Stonewall.
However important to the community a transgendered staff member
was, Kim Christy wasn't at Female Mimics long.
At first she was very present, appearing in photos, writing and
covering the balls. But a year later, by 1975, she vanished and
was absent for the remainder of the Jenifer Jordan years.
In Fall, 1976, after three years of regular publication Female
Mimics went into suspended animation for over a year. Female
Mimics Special appeared in Winter, 1977-78. This was the
last issue published by Jenifer Jordan. Special was the
only all-color, all-photo issue of Female Mimics. All
the photos were reprinted from previous issues. The models'
names were available. Yet, the editors printed no captions and
identified no one. The lone paragraph of text welcomes the reader
to "a rare treat
men who dress as women, who act as
women and who pass as women. Some, in fact, call themselves women
they
are not afraid to show this
what they believe is their rightful
role in life." It is disappointing that even with accurate
information at hand, the publisher opted for this vague titillation
and an insultingly simplistic definition of transexuality.
THE LAST YEAR, Volume 5 (sic), 1979
There were no more issues for over a year. The next issue, volume
5, #1, dated Spring, 1979, published by Satellite Enterprises,
an alias of Eros. These last three issues of Female Mimics
were precursors to Female Mimics International, which would
publish its first issue the next year, Winter, 1980. Graphically
the connection is very strong. Many visual elements of these
last three Female Mimics, such as the new typeface, borders,
cover logo and layout, became signature design elements of the
early Female Mimics International.
The first column by Linda Lee, Female Mimics most articulate
and thoughtful writer, appears in volume 5 #2. Earlier she had
been West Coast Correspondent for Lee G. Brewster's magazine
Drag. Her column would continue in Female Mimics International
and run for over eight years, until 1987. Also, some of the models
featured in these last three issues of Female Mimics, such
as Shalei Lutrelle and Sulka became familiar faces
in Female Mimics International.
But the strongest connection between these two publications is
the return of Kim Christy. This time Kim returned for good.
She was editor of these last issues of Female Mimics.
She was editor of Female Mimics International when the
first issue was published. And she is editor of Female Mimics
International today with the 100th issue due out later this
year.
With Kim's return came a brief era of excellent ball coverage.
Never before, or since, were photo credits as detailed and inclusive.
Volume 5, #2 listed not only all the contestants, even if their
photos did not appear, but their sponsors, too.
This does not mean, however, that accurate representation of the
gay or transgendered lifestyle has won out over the readers'
desire for fantasy. As with the Jenifer Jordan issues, performer
profiles have some ring of truth to them, but facts about the
unknown queens remain vague. These profiles feel fictionalized
with fetishistic interests in mind. "Jennifer prefers
to dress a little kinky for her dates. She feels more sensual
in a garter belt, stockings and an alluring dress."
CONCLUSION
Did Female Mimics make a positive contribution to the transgendered
community? Yes, at times, though that was never its principal
goal. Its principal goal was selling magazines. Its history
of an evolving editorial position reflects the times. Female
Mimics began with an emphasis on professional female impersonators
in venues and with content that would be considered non-threatening
to mainstream heterosexual audiences. The image presented to
the community was of glamorous, passing queens. The early 1970's
was a period of blatant exploitation, portraying the models as
anonymous objects of fantasy and introducing erotic fiction with
homophobic and transphobic implications. Finally, a post-Stonewall
consciousness did emerge and, while it did not fully satisfy our
desire for positive self-identification, it provided the transgendered
community with some degree of affirmation and education.
In its final years Female Mimics maintained an uneasy combination
of ball coverage, community information and fantasy. This formula
was continued by Female Mimics International . It was
only abandoned when community based publications, such as Tapestry,
Crossdresser's Quarterly and Lady Like, gained
national distribution. These magazines championed an editorial
policy centered on providing information and inclusive positive
images to the entire gender community. With the emergence of these
publications Female Mimics International could now justifiably
abandon its half-hearted efforts at community representation.
Nonetheless Female Mimics has served members of the transgendered
community in a variety of ways. It was the first magazine to
utilize a format which is now the standard among nationally distributed
gender publications. Because of its accessibility and wide distribution
it was often the first gender publication men exploring their
feminine side encountered. Thus, its images shaped parts of our
early identity as crossdressers and transexuals. Female Mimics
has also provided publicity to clubs and entertainers, pride to
homosexuals, fantasy, flattery to the vanity of its models, reassurance
to heterosexual crossdressers and has sold hundreds of thousands
of copies in its 16 year publishing history.
Is an avid collector of TG material
He welcomes the chance to compare collections
buy, sell or trade.
He can be reached by Email
msbob@tgforum.com
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