Dear Sisters,
To Be Femme, or
Not To Be Femme
By Brittany Rose, a.k.a.
Beth
Dear Sisters,
First, a personal note: I love this community! Everyone is so
sensitive to each others' feelings! I had mentioned that, although I
write my columns as Brittany, my public name is Beth. So I got
letters addressed to "Dear Brittany or Beth" and "Dear
Beth/Brittany." To make it easier, I'll just go by the name of
Brittany on the Forum. But thank you for your kindness.
My wife and I belong to a medieval reenactment
group. A couple of nights a week, and frequently on weekends, I can
be found running around in male attire from the Middle
Agestunic and tights. Some of the similarities to being in a
reenactment group and being a TG will show up in a future column.
Needless to say, with the wonderful gowns and costumes from the
medieval and Renaissance periods, I have wanted to dress en femme
ever since I started participating. I even toyed with the idea of
having a female persona, the medieval character that you attempt to
portray within the group, but a few things prevented that. First of
all, I would have been outing myself, and although I'm fairly open
about Brittany, I still want to be the one to tell others about her.
Second, the group is fairly conservative and I didn't want to offend
anyone. And third, this is an activity I share with my wife, and we
want to do it as a couple.
So instead I chose for my persona an Elizabethan actor. I'm familiar
with the time period, I love the clothes, I love Shakespeare, and, oh
yes, in the Elizabethan Theatre men and boys played all of the female
roles. (A
side note: A couple of years ago, Shakespeare's theatre, the Globe,
was rebuilt in London. Of the two companies that perform there, one
is entirely male, using males for all the female roles. Most of the
actors who performed as females doubled in male roles as well.) For
me, the actor persona was ideal, for, if the appropriate opportunity
arose, I would be able to dress en femme without making anyone
uncomfortable. Finally, in April, my opportunity arrived. I was asked
to teach a class on Shakespeare's Theatre.
I take my teaching very seriously, so I was not going to dress if it
wouldn't in some way add to the educational process. If it would be a
distraction, or just an extra thrill for me, I wouldn't do it. I
reflected (or rationalized, perhaps) that it would be very useful to
demonstrate how different the Elizabethan theatre was from modern
theatre and how that affected Shakespeare's writing. So I chose to
perform the closing speech in The Taming of the Shrew.
Katherine has been "tamed" and gives a rousing admonition to the
other women about how obedient a wife should be. This is obviously a
controversial speech when it is presented today. However, if the
performer making the speech is male, which is how it was originally
performed, it comes across as subtle propaganda. That would certainly
make my point about the differences in the theaters. With my
justification and plan in place, I was ready to begin.
My first step was to get an Elizabethan outfit. A seamstress friend
designed and created an Elizabethan gown and surcoat for me, and I
added a pearl necklace, rings and bracelet, and made a set of pearl
earrings that were similar to what women wore at the time. I wore
white tights and gold flats, and as a final touch, I had my Brittany
wig curled and set.
The day of the class my wife and my seamstress
friend helped me get dressed before they went to their own classes. I
put on my undergarments, and put on a smock before putting on
make-up. Next I slipped into my gown, and while my seamstress friend
made adjustments, I added the earrings and other jewelry. Then on
with the wig, add a veil on the back of my hair, and I was ready to
face the world.
Since I had a couple of hours before my class was to start, I decided
to mingle with some of my friends who were there, none of whom knew
what I had planned. Again this was one of those odd situations where
I wanted my feminine illusion to be perfect in how I looked, but my
behavior needed to be completely masculine. I know that the trigger
to shift into a feminine mindset is different for different people.
For some, it's putting on the makeup, and for others it's when the
wig goes on that you feel like a woman, and everything shifts. For me
it seems to be the voice. When I start talking in feminine mode, even
when I'm not dressed, I feel like Brittany. So as I was walking
around dressed as an Elizabethan lady, my voice stayed masculine, and
so did everything else. As a matter of fact, I was told later that my
voice and the way I was moving were giving me away, neither of which
I was working on.
As I walked around, I spotted three ladies that I knew, and when I
started talking to them, I had to tell them who I was. They said that
when I got close they could tell I was a guy, but would never have
recognized me. They were amazed at how I looked, and gave me
suggestions on how to sit and walk in such a long gown. (I was
grateful for the advice!) They were so cute about it! I told them who
made the dress, and said that I got my wig and padding from a friend
who "performs" in Denver. (Obviously they couldn't be mine!) One of
them complemented me by saying that she didn't think some of the more
macho guys in the group would have the "balls" to wear a dress! My
favorite comment was from the lady who said, "I know what you look
like as a guy, but sitting here talking to you, I have to struggle
not to relate to you as a woman."

Eventually the time came for my class, and it went very well,
including my performance as Katherine. I wasn't too nervous, even
when I found out that of the small group of students, several had
performed quite a bit of Shakespeare. My justification for dressing
en femme was considered perfectly valid, and they all agreed that a
male performing the role really did put a different spin on the
speech. All in all, it was a fun time.
After the class, my wife and I stopped at a gas station, changed into
regular femme clothes, and went through a fast food drive-thru. This
was another high because it was the first time I was ma'amed based on
my voice alone. (My voice still needs a lot of work tho'.) We went to
see the movie, Lost in Space, but by the time it was
over I'd been dressed for over ten hours, and I was being read by
everybody. But who cared? I'd had a great day.
When I was ten I discovered Shakespeare and the amazing revelation
that boy actors dressed as girls for his plays. From then on I
thought how wonderful it would be to be one of Shakespeare's
heroines, all dressed up in a beautiful gown, performing in front of
people who could accept the illusion. Dreams do come true! Just don't
ever give up.
Till next time I hope that I remain,
Fashionably yours,
Brittany Rose
BrittTV@aol.com
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