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Brittany Rose



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 Ages—tunic 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. The Globe Company(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.

What Light Thru Yonder...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."
Brit
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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