Dina’s Diner 12/13/21

THE LONG HIDDEN PRECEDENT

Ewan Forbes and Wife Isabella.

TheDailyBeast.com online magazine had an interesting article that appeared on November 24, 2021 under the headline The Landmark Trans Case That Got Hushed Up for Decades. It recounted the story of Ewan Forbes, a Scottish nobleman, who was born Elizabeth Forbes-Sempill in 1912. The article and the Wikipedia entry for Forbes identifies him as a trans man – one of the earliest acknowledged in the public records.

The Wikipedia entry tells the story of a young girl and woman who seemed to walk easily (or somewhat easily) dressed as a boy at times but also doing some traditional female things like coming out as a debutante in her/his early adulthood. Born into a titled baronetcy and privilege, he was educated in Germany and it was there that he began seeing specialists with his mother’s approval to facilitate his true gender presentation. He returned to Scotland and studied medicine (against his father’s wishes) and set up a general practice in which he presented as a male at all times.

The hook of the story is that upon the death of his elder brother, the baronetcy was expected to pass to Ewan as the male heir. The year was 1965 and Ewan would have been 53 years old at the time. The article relates, “That’s when a cousin, claiming Ewan was a woman, challenged his right to the honorific, since the law said only males could inherit such titles. This led to a potentially groundbreaking legal case, and a victory for Ewan when the judge ruled that he was “a true hermaphrodite in whom male sexual characteristics predominate.”” The judge effectively sealed the documentation on privacy grounds and inadvertently suppressed what could have been a groundbreaking precedent for trans rights. “I think public knowledge of the legal precedent in favor of Ewan would have supported the approach that ‘psychological sex’ was the key determinant in being male or female,” says Zoe Playdon, author of The Hidden Case of Ewan Forbes And the Unwritten History of the Trans Experience, a new book about Ewan’s story and the history of transgender rights in the U.K. and U.S. “If Ewan’s case hadn’t been hidden, the world might be a more egalitarian place.”

The article also points out, “It is also a historical reminder that from approximately the late 19th century through the 1960s, trans people could self-identify, find effective medical support, correct their birth certificates, and live unpersecuted.” It was only beginning in the 1950s that the idea of “curing” or “reversing” gender dysphoria became prevalent.

There seems to be a question whether Ewan was indeed a hermaphrodite and the article also admits that Ewan told some white lies about his physical state in order to prevail. The other interesting part of Ewan’s story is that he married a woman in 1952 and they remained married for the rest of Ewan’s life, passing in 1991. Unfortunately, no information was given about Isabella, Lady Forbes. Her story would be fascinating to hear.

An irony in the story is that the male cousin who had sued for the family title in the 1960s finally inherited the baronetcy upon Ewan’s death (with no heirs male or otherwise for obvious reasons) in 1991.

A NOT SO SECRET CODE

I came across an article from over two years ago that was rather interesting. I don’t know how I missed it at the time. But here we are. The article in the online version of the South China Morning Post was headlined Meet China’s Fabulous Cross-Dressing Computer Coders. It originally appeared way back in April 2019. There were also numerous online outlets that picked up the article in 2019.

Here is how it begins: “A small and growing community of Chinese programmers is pushing boundaries by coding while cross-dressing and cosplaying as female characters, wearing schoolgirl uniforms and lacy Lolita dresses. While the Japanese-influenced trend is not new, it has been attracting wider attention with the establishment of an online group called Dress, aimed at “lovely boys” who want to practice their coding skills.”

Akechi Satori

The Dress group requires prospective members to submit photos of themselves crossdressed. At the original publication date, there were 134 members and the site had been viewed by just under ten thousand more. The group was the brainchild of a nineteen year old programmer named Akechi Satori based in Guangzhou, China. Akechi identifies as a woman and she told SCMP, “Boys who pursue cuteness and choose to dress in an adorable style isn’t an outrageous thing . . . I originally just wanted to put mine and friends’ photos on there but I’d like to thank all the lovelies who have contributed to the project and helped us get to know so many friends who have similar interests.”

Suji Yan

Another programmer, Suji Yan, was the earliest to publicize the prevalence of young crossdressing computer coders. He said he started crossdressing in high school as part of anime cosplay. In 2013, he wrote a blog post saying he made fewer errors when he programmed while crossdressed. When the trend of crossdressed programmers became well known, it was joked that the three stages of programming careers went from junior, to senior, to crossdressed. Suji, who is married now in his twenties, has some reservations about the subculture. He told the SCMP, “I wonder if the cross-dressing trend is harmful to the transgender community. Some people cross-dress for comedic effect and terms like ‘big dudes in dresses’ can have a negative connotation.”

The article mentions that at some Chinese tech companies there are crossdressing events at company functions. It also notes that, unfortunately, women are often encouraged to dress in provocative outfits as part of the festivities. So the fun may have an undercurrent of misogyny.

Some are also concerned that the Chinese government’s crackdown on subversive movements may eventually come down on crossdressing and non-traditional gender expressions. And although the public seems to be amused and unoffended by the crossdressed coder phenomenon, there are always detractors with negative comments. Dress group founder Akechi Satori told SCMP, “For those who don’t accept or don’t understand this phenomenon, no matter how much we debate, it won’t change their stance. In today’s diverse society, voices that support different ideas cannot be killed.”

SMOOTH AS ICE

Did you ever have the daydream of gracefully gliding across a vast open space with thousands of people’s eyes on you while you’re wearing a form-fitting bedazzled outfit and professionally coiffed hair? Maybe you have but it’s probably a different fantasy than what this Diner item is all about.

I was briefly watching an ice-skating competition recently and paid particular attention to one of the male figure skaters. I’ve always admired female ice skaters going all the way back to Dorothy Hammill in the 1970s. It was partly the talent to be sure but also the idea of gliding around in a short-skirted skate costume with sheer tights. The male skaters are now also wearing fancy blouses with sheer insets, jeweled trimming, or flowing bits of material that would have at one time been viewed as “girly.” They do still wear long pants, not skirts.

Yuzuru Hanyu

The interesting thing about the skaters’ slacks is that they are always tight enough to showcase whatever booty they have. And some do. Have a nice booty, that is.

Perhaps especially, now that the males are wearing more stylized outfits, the always present question about sexuality is still lurking beneath the surface. Doing research about male skaters in general, I came across this Google-suggested search item: “Are all male skaters gay?” It almost made me laugh to imagine someone (perhaps) innocently wondering this. The answer is, of course, no.

Japanese competitors seem to be among the top-rated skaters these days. This certainly is true when judging for cuteness. Yuzuru Hanyu seems to be the current heartthrob on the international skating scene. He’s in his twenties despite his youthful appearance. I’ve had a number of Diner items about Japanese crossdressing bars, boutiques, school pageants, even a baseball team doing drag for charity. Maybe that will be the next frontier in male skating. Hai!

WHICH GIRL? THAT GIRL

A recent perusal through my cable TV listings found some episodes of That Girl. The series ran from 1966 to 1971 and starred Marlo Thomas as a young actress living on her own in New York City. According to some online reviews, the series was the first one to feature a single career woman. I don’t think the series is remembered (if it’s remembered at all) as a feminist vanguard but some people propose that it should be retrospectively viewed that way.

I remember watching That Girl at home as a kid. I was too young to put any store in its feminist aspirations but it was pretty funny as 1960s sitcoms went. But now, watching it from afar — some 55 years afar — I liked it very much. Even though it was filmed in Hollywood, it had a very New York-y vibe befitting its fictional setting. Small apartments (very realistic as I now realize), some rough-edged, cynical characters, and some external street shots to give it a bustling big city atmosphere.

Of course, the main feature was That Girl herself, Marlo Thomas as “Ann Marie.” At the time the show was debuting on network television, there was some snarkiness about the casting of Ms. Thomas because she was the daughter of well-known sitcom star Danny Thomas. There was also some who didn’t think Marlo had the classic good looks to deserve her own show. Again, looking at the show now, Marlo is perfect in the role. She’s cute and had a wide range of expressive faces and wide-eyed looks to fit all the sublime and ridiculous things that befall a sitcom star. In fact, when I think of Marlo the image that pops in my head is her at turns crestfallen or over-excited facial expressions.

The stream of colorful mid-sixties fashions is another reason to like the show in retrospect. Marlo made her bell-shaped flip hairstyle something of her personal trademark. Her wardrobe was a collection of brightly colored mini dresses with pop art accessories, opaque tights, cute flat soled or low-heeled shoes, and the occasional upturned brim sailor hat with bow. It’s a look that works for sixties-era girl watchers. . . or any-era crossdressers who wish we could look that sharp in unfussy fashions. Even the men’s fashions were good: closely tailored suits, crisp dress shirts, longish but carefully coiffed haircuts. (Bernie Koppel, later the ship’s doctor on The Love Boat, was a supporting cast member.)

A brief side note if you didn’t already know: Marlo Thomas married daytime talk show host Phil Donahue who had some shows featuring crossdressers in the mid-1980s when that was all the rage for afternoon audience participation chat shows.

That Girl reruns appear on a channel called Antenna TV. Check it out if you want to see how the other half (the girl half) lived in the 1960s. And dream of being a twenty-something girl in the big city during the Johnson Administration.

OF BRITNEYS REAL AND IMAGINED

Britney at 40.

Right after all the mishegoss about the Britney Spears conservatorship, Britney herself turned 40. Born December 2, 1981. Ten years ago, I dashed off an item for TGForum about Brit’s 30th birthday. That seemed like such a milestone considering her beginnings in the 1990s as a Mouseketeer and later a teen sex symbol. So 40, now. What a long, strange trip it’s been, as another musician sang long before Britney came along.

Maybe as a result of the brief cascade of Britney tributes, I sought out news of Derrick Barry whom many consider the foremost Britney Spears impersonator. Derrick was also a breakout star on RuPaul’s Drag Race and its succeeding versions. According to Wikipedia, Derrick is two years younger than Britney and first dressed up as his idol in 2003 at 20 years of age. He has parlayed his drag career into other reality shows and some television and film appearances.

Derrick Barry as Britney.

There is an interesting thing I’ve noticed about professional drag queens. And this goes all the way back to a VHS tape I watched about a drag pageant in the late 1980s. The drag queens who look the best in full cosmetic and wig glamour are not classically handsome men. A blanker canvas is needed to let the cosmetic camouflage work its magic. Strong jawlines, brows, nose, or deeply set eyes overpower the illusion of cosmetics. There are plenty of photos of Derrick Barry in guy mode and (not to say he’s not a good looking guy) he has softly defined features. So if you wish you had a kisser like Clooney, Hemsworth, Cena, or some other male sex symbol, you’d most likely not be the beautiful lady you are, ladies.

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Tags: crossdressing, featured, news, opinion, Transgender

Category: Transgender Fun & Entertainment