Dina’s Diner 11/15/21
THE OTHER JAMES BROWN
Nigeria’s James Brown.
I came across an article about a Nigerian crossdressing celebrity named James Brown. The headline was catchy: I May be a Beautiful Girl but I am Still a Man. The item appeared on a site called ITalkNigeria and it appeared on October 26, 2021.
James Brown is something of a celebrity in Nigeria. In all the articles I read and scanned about him after my initial discovery, he is always identified as a crossdresser. Apropos of the above comment, it would appear that Brown does not identify as a trans person and so far as I can tell has no plans to transition or live full time as a woman. According to news reports in different sources, James burst onto the scene after being arrested in 2019 with a large group of other Nigerian men in a police raid enforcing the country’s ban on homosexual gatherings, “recruitment,” and physical intimacies. He is still cagey about his sexual orientation perhaps because of the repressive laws in Nigeria.
His identification as a crossdresser is interesting to me. As with all celebrities nowadays, Brown has an Instagram page where he posts photos of himself in cosmetic splendor, full drag, and some in mostly male mode. The page has no photos in trashy lingerie or explicit poses. He doesn’t seem to be a drag performer so the identifier “drag queen” isn’t accurate. James has apparently not adopted a feminine name for his crossdressing life. I guess he’s more of a model or “influencer” in today’s terminology.
Whatever label he prefers, he certainly appears beautiful in photographs. I particularly like the traditional African ensemble shown above. Several years ago I wrote an item about beautiful Nigerian film actresses and how they differed from U.S. or European beauty standards. And I wish there were more African American crossdressers in our community. James Brown is an interesting presence in a far away country and I hope the rest of his story will be a good one.
TWO INCHES IS ALL YOU NEED FOR GOOD SEX
That was the message gleaned from an article posted to the Daily Mail website on October 31, 2021. Before some of you breathe a sigh of relief, however, read on.
More than 2 inches.
The Mail reported on a study performed by researchers at Shanghai’s Fudan University to determine which heel height improved women’s pelvic muscles. Particular muscles in women’s pelvic region are a factor in orgasming. Surveying over 1,200 women, the researchers concluded “that two-inch heels work best because, when a woman is standing in them, they tilt her pelvis just enough to make its muscles repeatedly contract — keeping them in good shape.” The stronger the pelvic muscles, the better the “O”. The researchers tried different heel heights and concluded the two-inchers were optimal.
The study noted that flat soled shoes did not provide the same beneficial effect. Likewise, higher heel heights “did not stimulate the muscles in the same way” as the two-inch heels. Besides making orgasm easier, well-toned pelvic muscles also “reduce the risk of urinary issues and embarrassing bladder leaks.”
The study was confined to women only. No crossdressers were studied because of the differences in pelvic plumbing, I imagine. However, as crossdressers, I think we could conclude (unscientifically) that the higher the heel, the more orgasmic potential among our community. If I could only assemble a study group of 1,200 crossdressers maybe I could get a grant or something to really delve into this. Volunteers?
PUT THEM TO THE TEST, LADIES
I saw an article about an indestructible pantyhose developed by a company called Sheertex. The news and culture site The Daily Beast had an item about them on October 21, 2021. I also found other reports elsewhere on the web.
The Sheertex tights test.
The Beast article recounted the company’s claims that their new pantyhose is “made from a bulletproof material that Sheertex purports is 10 times as strong as steel and that cannot be ripped apart by human hands alone.” The new pantyhose are 30 denier (the unit of measure for stockings and tights) where most commercial pairs are rated closer to the bottom of the scale that runs from 5 to 100.
According to the article and the company’s information, “Sheertex is so confident in the strength of their pantyhose that they have a 30-Day Toughness Guarantee. If you break the pantyhose within those 30 days, they’ll send you another pair for free.” The reviewer for The Daily Beast said she and her partner tried almost everything they could think of to create a runner in the Sheertex hose. She finally gave up and is a firm believer in the new product. The rub is that the pantyhose come priced at $60 a pair.
For a regular wearer of pantyhose – and there are still some, despite the shrinking numbers of everyday use – the $60 price would require some calculation to determine if it makes sense. For crossdressers, the calculation is probably right on the edge. If you only dress once a week or so and have time to wash between wearings, the $60 might eliminate the need to keep restocking (no pun intended) cheaper pantyhose and the inevitable runs. You could theoretically go the rest of your crossdressing life with the same indestructible pair of pantyhose.
SUNDAY IS FOR DRESSING UP
Toyah Willcox and Robert Fripp.
During the darker days of the pandemic, the husband and wife team of Robert Fripp and Toyah Willcox began making homemade music videos under the heading Toyah and Robert’s Sunday Lunch. Fripp is the leader of the progressive rock band King Crimson and Toyah is a former British pop star and actress. The duo perform covers of various songs from all genres: from Britney Spears pop to Metallica heaviness. The videos are filmed right in the kitchen of their English country home with minimal production.
The videos posted to YouTube have become very popular. I think most of the popularity is attributable to Toyah Willcox’s costumes and antics in the performances. Toyah has made up and dressed up in all of the classic female tropes during the series of weekly videos. There has been the French Maid, the Sexy Devil, the Sexy Policewoman, the Sexy Princess, the Sexy Nurse, and the Sexy Workout Lady. Even at 63 years of age, Toyah is quite capable of putting the “sexy” in any of her costumes. She is particularly notorious for displaying her very lovely breasts in sheer or tight tops with very prominent nipples.
I am a fan of King Crimson and Fripp’s guitar mastery and he plays the silent foil to his wife’s outrageousness in the videos. Toyah told the press that the videos were her idea to get Robert out of his Covid quarantine funk. And it seems to have worked because the famously buttoned up Fripp has even combed his short hair into a faux-hawk and donned punk eye and face makeup for some of the performances.
Toyah’s weekly all-out dress-up fun is very akin to homebound crossdressers who use the weekends to doll up, dress up, and put some mileage on those high heels in the closet. We should all have as much energy and sass as Toyah does when we do it. Check out a few of the videos and see if it inspires you to do likewise.
WHEN A BOTTOM BECOMES A TOP
No, I’m not talking about an S&M switcheroo. I’m talking about an article I saw online reporting that young women are making “crop tops” from leggings and tights. I saw the article on Tyla.com, a lifestyle and fashion site, on October 27, 2021.
Tights to tops.
The article includes a TikTok video posted by a young lady user-named RissaChin. Rissa takes a pair of black tights, makes a few snips and voila! It is transformed into one of those sleek Lycra tops with artful cutouts along the arms. Two other TikTok clips show users making tops or under layers with sheer and sparkly tights not much thicker than normal pantyhose.
The article explained it briefly: “Turns out, flipping a pair of tights upside down means you have a perfect crop top template to work with. By cutting the gusset out and converting it into a neckline, your fave pair of winter-warmers becomes a slinky night-outfit. Removing the toe-line from the tights also ensures your hands can snugly fit through. Who needs mesh, eh?”
The report came out near Halloween so it was angled towards repurposing the tights for costume purposes. The user videos show that the look works for any casual fashion occasion. How about a crossdressing occasion? Sure, why not? Most of us like tights of one form or another. If Lycra feels so good on your legs (and elsewhere), maybe it would feel equally good on your arms and torso. Get your scissors out, girls.
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Category: Transgender Fun & Entertainment, Transgender Politics
About the Author (Author Profile)
I started crossdressing and going out publicly in 1988. I joined the Renaissance group in the Philadelphia area that year and later became chapter leader for two years in the '90s. I always enjoyed writing and wrote for the Renaissance newsletter and magazine throughout my membership years. I've been writing for TGForum for several years now. I also contributed items to LadyLike magazine and other TG publications before the advent of the internet. My hobby-within-a-hobby is singing live as my alter-ego Dina Sinatra and I have had the opportunity to do that with several accommodating performers and in a number of venues over the years since the mid-1990s. In the Diner column items here, I try to relate crossdressing or transgender themes (and my own pet peeves and fetishes) to the larger world -- and vice versa.Subscribe
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What a wonderful idea to do the high heel experiment with crossdressers. I won’t volunteer because I can manage the feat of twisting my ankle while wearing flip-flops, but I still hope to see this study.