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By Angela Gardner

Happy June my little lovelies. Spring, or summer... or fall is in the air. It must be El Nino. I haven't been able to figure out which wardrobe to take out of storage and air out. Short sleeve dresses, sleeveless tops paired with short shorts or skirts—or sweaters, jackets and leggings? Fortunately I didn't put all my sweaters in storage. After a few weather flip flops I've developed a policy of keeping a selection of attire available to cover any season.

A case in point:

May twenty ninth, normally a date when you would expect spring breezes, temperatures in the seventies and pleasant sunny skies, turned out to be one of the hottest days of the year so far. It was somewhere near ninety degrees and also around the high nineties in humidity. Just the kind of day on which you want to wear a giant wig and heavy makeup.

It all started because of one of my other jobs. (Yes kittens, The Diva has other things to occupy her idle hours. And no, I'm notCass Book Cover a waitress in a donut shop!) I happen to be the Editor of LadyLike magazine. As Editor I'm proud to say it's the premier print publication for crossdressers. (TGForum is the online leader.) My Publisher, a woman you may have heard of called JoAnn Roberts, phoned me at my mountain retreat and said we simply must do a story on a hot young makeup artist and fabulous Cher impersonator named Devon Cass. Devon has a book out called Double Take, (Regan Books/Harper Collins Publishers, $24.00) a how-to tome on celebrity impersonation. (That's not RuPaul, Rosy O'Donnell and Oprah on the cover.) The book features transformations on several people who, thru Devon's makeup enhancement, become dead ringers for well known celebs. Among the most impressive are the trio of Marilyn Monroes. Of course the guy makes the best looking Marilyn. Devon also transforms a white guy into RuPaul, and shows us how he turns himself into Cher. It's pretty amazing and well illustrated with over 160 photos. After looking it over I said, yes, we simply must!

I had my staff make a few phone calls... oh all right, I called myself, and in a matter of hours we had Devon lined up for not only an interview, but a makeover on Jo and I. That's why we had to head into steamy Manhattan at the end of May.

My friend, female Cher impersonator Melodee, came along to take pictures and get makeup tips, of which there were plenty. As far as pics go, we took a demure before picture and then—the transformations began. As Mel snapped away Devon, who's a sweet guy as well as a major talent, worked his magic. Happily Devon's studio was air conditioned. I was cool as the proverbial cuc as I sat in the hot seat for my makeover. Slowly, but surely, the humble Diva of Dish disappeared to be replaced by the haughty and imperious Cher. Yeah, yeah, so The Diva is sort of haughty and imperious too. I guess that's why Devon thought he could turn me into Cher in the first place. Then, he took JoAnn and made her into Liza—with a Z. Talk about impressed. The lashes alone where enough to impress. With the right wardrobe and hair (two wigs stacked together in my case) Cher and Liza were ready for their closeups, Mister Cass.

Not only a Cher impersonator and makeup maven, Devon is a world class photographer. He made us into famous women and then documented the change with his camera. Near the end of the color roll, I guess when the poses got too hot, the air conditioner that had valiantly striven to hold out the Big Apple heat for the whole session, quit. It was an overload and the breaker was in the closet behind a whole pile of stuff. We finished the shoot in full wardrobe and makeup with no air conditioner. I swear that for the last few shots we didn't sweat. The moment Devon said he was done, oye, did we start to dew!

Devon toned down our makeup a touch, peeled off our false eyelashes (the kind that cause windstorms when fluttered too vigorously) and we dashed off, already late for our dinner reservation at Lips, the faboo drag restaurant at 2 Bank Street in the Village. Now that the shoot was done we felt we deserved a cocktail and some food. (I didn't eat for a week to get ready for the shoot. Honest.) We dined and enjoyed the show, featuring our waitress Jennifer Michaels, and the lovely Paulina, the white trash queen, as MC. Great meal, great show.

Keep your eyes open for the next issue of LadyLike for the pictorial of Liza and I, and the interview with Devon. It's amazing.

(The next issue of LadyLike -- An exclusive interview with Devon Cass author of Double Take - The Art of The Celebrity Makeover - hits the stands in late July. LadyLike -- exploring & expressing femininity!)

The New Frontier

San Francisco has been a city on the cutting edge for a long time. After all, that's where they film that cutting edge show, Nash Bridges. (Don Johnson promised transvestites on the show when he pitched it to the network, and by golly he's delivered in a few episodes.) With a large gay community presence, a reputation as a haven for crossdressers and drag queens, and its status as the home of the famous female impersonator club Finochio's, it's no wonder SF has got some good press from the transgendered.

The May 7th issue of San Francisco Frontiers News Magazine was subtitled Gender-Bender and featured a heavy TG theme. Transformations, The Ins and Outs of Transgenderism by Gretchen Lee told the stories of several TG people in San Francisco (including James Green of FtM International) and included a sidebar titled Translations, which gave a good list of TG definitions. Transcendent, by Alec C. Wagner asked the question, "Where is drag now, and where is it going?" Queens in the know, from Lypsinka to Lois Commondenominator, answer the question for your enlightenment and entertainment. All in all it's a well done issue and if you have the opportunity to read a copy, take it. You'll recognize the issue by the sexy blonde on the cover. From her smoldering eyes to her luscious red lips she's quite a babe... till you notice that her shoulders are pretty wide and that flat chest is pretty muscular. I have to admit, when Ms Bob handed me the magazine (thanks Bob!) I thought they had used computer graphics technology to put a woman's head on a man's body but... I was wrong. The model (I'd say male model, but with the whole gender identity thing I'd better not commit. Who know's how the model identifies?) was Rani Gallardo. Rani made such a hot babe thanks to great bone structure and the work of another makeup artist, Maria Haro. You can read Letters To The Editor about the issue at their website. Unfortunately they don't have the May 7th issue there.

If you go to SF to pick up a back issue, time your visit for the weekend of June 27th and pack your nicest outfit for the San Francisco Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Pride Celebration. For more info on the event call 415-864-3733, Email them or visit their Website. Ain't it about time we came up with a better way to say all that?


Kudos (what the hell are kudos, anyway?) to Inside Edition. It's not often you hear a transgendered writer say that about I.E., is it? Just today (6/9/98) the show featured a story about the transsexual school bus driver in Selinsgrove, PA. Trish is one brave woman who lives in Central Pennsylvania, an area (except for a few square blocks in State College, PA) that's not known for it's enlightened attitudes. (San Francisco it ain't.) She was living as a biker kind of dude with a beard and knew that she had to make a change. So, she became Trish and is now in the process of transition. She and another area TS, Valerie, were both shown and interviewed on the program, and while a slight edge of exploitation was there (hey it's television ya know) the presentation came off pretty good for the transsexuals. They said that Trish is still driving her bus and the school board has decided to let her. When they said that the parents who objected have pulled their kids off the bus and drive them to school themselves they made the parents sound pretty intolerant and dumb. I tried to find the Inside Edition website (they gotta have one) but I couldn't find them. If you do send them a note thanking them for the positive coverage.

And, that's it for another month my little gender variants. I must slip away for my beauty sleep. I hardly get a minute lately. Living in the woods, on a mountain, one is sometimes visited by small furry creatures. I have had an absolute horror of a time lately with the local rodentia. They're not raiding my larder, but I have a difficult time keeping them out of my makeup. The trap in the lipstick drawer went off not long ago, and the poor little thing had only gotten its little mousy lips half-done when it was caught. How sad. But at least the little fellas have good fashion sense. He had picked the right color to compliment his fur. EEK! There goes another one! Get out you rascal! Gotta go until next month... Ta-Ta!

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