Dina’s Diner 2/6/23

THE WAY YOU WEAR IT

The New York Times had an article headlined Defining Nonbinary Work Wear in the January 9, 2023 edition. From the article: “Deciding what’s appropriate for work can be fraught for employees of any gender, especially in this post-lockdown-but-still-Zooming “power casual” moment. But many nonbinary people report unique pressures that accompany choosing a work outfit.” The Times spoke to a number of nonbinary workers in different fields to find out how they navigated their fashion and work worlds.

The following remark encapsulates the tightrope nonbinary folks walk with business considerations on one side and personal expression on the other. “I think people treat me with more dignity when I dress more masculinely, but people are way nicer to me when I dress more femininely,” said El Layla Johnson, 33, a former restaurant server who is now a therapist. For Mx. Johnson, getting dressed for work has been a struggle since adolescence. “I just feel like there’s a manual or rule book that people receive and that my copy got lost in the mail.”

In progressive workplaces, the challenges are less fraught. “Ginger Copes, 32, works as a digital producer for CBS in Philadelphia. During an onboarding meeting, employees were encouraged to bring their whole selves to work. Mx. Copes took the guidance to heart, ditching traditionally masculine looks in favor of maxi skirts paired with button-down shirts. To Mx. Copes’s surprise and delight, the response was positive. Several co-workers remarked that Mx. Copes seemed particularly confident and happy at work, Mx. Copes recalled.”

Employment and school dress codes have been in the news often lately. Usually it involves some transgression (real or imagined) through inappropriate attire. But nonbinary employees may run into troubles with employers who want clearer gender presentations. The article reported: “Richard Thompson Ford, a Stanford Law School professor [said] “Historically, there’s been a really strong norm, both in terms of law and custom, of enforcing a strict division between masculine and feminine attire,” Professor Ford said. “One of the tricky things is that the norms of gendered dress keep shifting. Determining what’s appropriate is always kind of a moving target.”

A nonbinary attorney told the Times they “overshoot in a masculine direction” [when dressing to meet clients] because a woman in a suit “is fine, that’s not weird, right? That doesn’t make anyone want to punch you.”

TOO MUCH? OR JUST RIGHT?

The Huffington Post website had an article headlined Why Are Women Judged For Too Much Makeup? Some May Find Them ‘Less Human.’ It appeared on December 28, 2022.

Too much?

The article discusses the age-old debate about women’s cosmetics use. More specifically, what some consider cosmetic overuse. The article points to the Kardashian clan, Lady Gaga, and the classic case of Tammy Faye Bakker-Messner as women accused of being overly cosmetized. The author also spoke to non-celebrity women to get their opinions on cosmetic usage.

The article reported: “Sara Pavoncello, a 32-year-old, has also dealt with negative reactions to her makeup use throughout the years. “The comments started when I was an adolescent,” she said. ‘My dad always tells me he doesn’t like my wearing too much makeup because women are pretty au naturel. I agree with him, but we need to look at the reasons why someone wears makeup.’” Another subject, Malvika Sheth “expressed frustration with the comments she receives. “I wish people would understand that my relationship with makeup isn’t to conceal but to express,” she said. ‘People would tell me not to wear too much because they thought I wanted to change or hide the way I look, but I do it because I want to play around with color and enhance the parts of myself that I like. It’s so much about expressing myself.’”

It’s true that sometimes facial makeup is over-the-top and you’ll often hear men say they don’t like women who wear too much makeup. The key there is the “too much” part. What amount is enhancing natural features and what amount becomes camouflage? As crossdressers we generally need a lot of makeup to both camouflage masculine features (think beard cover or eyebrow minimization) and enhance or create feminine features (think eyelashes, cheek contour, and lipgloss).

Some of the women in the article also noted that they use cosmetics to accent features, create a specific look for work or a special event, and just to feel better about themselves. Ergo the comment above: “I do it because I want to play around with color and enhance the parts of myself that I like. It’s so much about expressing myself.”

The article also referenced a 2020 study that women “with makeup were rated as less human while using complementary indicators of dehumanization,” the experts wrote, adding that models and ordinary women alike “were perceived as possessing less humanness, less agency, less experience . . . . less competence, less warmth, and less morality” than those not wearing cosmetics.” That reaction seems as over-the-top as some of the cosmetic use they are criticizing.

Fear not ladies, we are all of us still human no matter how much makeup we slather on, blend, brush, or powder.

JULIE NEWMAR – PANTYHOSE INVENT-AR

Pardon the fractured heading here but I just learned this about the iconic actress and bombshell Julie Newmar: she holds a patent for a very specific type of pantyhose.

Julie Newmar models her invention.

Julie is best remembered as the original Catwoman on the televised Batman series in the 1960s. Prior to that she played an Amazonian android in a series called My Living Doll. Before that she was in films and Broadway shows. Julie had the almost obligatory Playboy pictorial in 1968. She holds a trans-adjacent place in many hearts as the photographic object in the drag movie To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar in 1995.

At 5’11” with a broad face and high cheekbones Julie gave off exotic vibes but she was born right in Los Angeles in 1933 and is still alive today. Despite often being cast as a va-va-voom-inducing character in most of her appearances, Julie has distinguished herself as the holder of two patents.

The patent for the pantyhose design is described this way in the official patent grant: “The pantyhose include a rear panty portion which covers and confines the wearer’s buttocks. An elastic shaping band is attached to the rear panty portion and is connected from the vicinity of the wearer’s crotch rearward to the vicinity of a waist band of the pantyhose. The elastic shaping band fits between the wearer’s buttocks to produce the desired cheeky relief thereof.” The patent was granted in January 1977. Julie’s other patent is for an “invisible brassiere” useful for dancers and other athletic endeavors. It was granted in February 1976.

The pantyhose patent application noted that most pantyhose and bodyslimmers compress the buttocks while trying to flatten the tummy. Julie’s design has a built-in thong and cheek separator to keep the booty full and “cheeky.” Julie was ahead of her time bringing the booty to the forefront. Thanks for everything, Julie Newmar.

MIGHT AS WELL JUMP

I came across an article in which a female restaurant server said she “makes $200 tips wearing an all-black jumpsuit.” It appeared on a website called DailyDot.com on December 29, 2022.

Bonaocean’s jumpsuit.

The short article relayed the story of a young server whose Tik Tok handle is @Bonaocean. The backstory is that many restaurants require their servers to wear all black outfits. Young Miss Bonaocean advises her sister servers to invest in an all-black jumpsuit. She showed some dinner receipts where she got $200 and $230 tips on much lower food bills when she was wearing her black jumpsuit.

Of course it wasn’t any ordinary one-piece jumpsuit in color black. Hers was shimmery and stretchy and hugged all of her well rounded booty. Other servers and customers commented on the DailyDot site that an outfit like that probably wouldn’t be allowed by many restaurant managements. Some commenters wanted to know which restaurant Bonaocean worked at. Ha. So do I.

The article reported that “Research has shown that male patrons at restaurants will tip more depending on what a waitress is wearing. There’s also a trend on TikTok via the hashtag #pigtailtheory where waitresses discuss how wearing their hair in pigtails earns them more tips. One commenter poked fun at the theory on @bonaocean’s video by asking “What happens if you wear the jumpsuit with your hair in pigtails? Do the men self-combust?”

This is the kind of story that appeals to my crossdressing soul. The idea of slipping into a black catsuit and sashaying around a restaurant checks a lot of boxes for me. Maybe for you too. Yeah, carrying the plates and drinks for the entire shift would be a drag but working our idealized femme bodies in a skintight ensemble for tips definitely holds an appeal. I wish the female servers in my favorite restaurants would adopt this uniform. It would be one of the few times I’d be happy to see the server walking away from my table.

DARTING OFF STAGE

Britain’s Mirror newspaper had an article about Darts Walk-On Girls in the January 1, 2023 edition. Apparently, the glamorous Walk-On Girls were tossed off the televised professional darts shows that are quite popular in the U.K.

After watching a YouTube video of one such competition, I saw that each dart thrower is accompanied to the stage by a “walk-on” girl. They enter down the center aisle of the dart arena to the shouts and fist bumps of the boisterous crowd and ascend to the raised stage.

Walk-On Girls

As you may have already surmised, the Walk-On Girls are beautiful and are dressed in sparkly cocktail dresses often with sponsor sashes across their ample chests. The Professional Darts Corporation (which produces the competitions) “removed the glamorous models from their events in January 2018 when chairman Barry Hearn reluctantly conceded walk-on girls were “in danger of becoming incompatible with inclusive family viewing.”

One of the women said that her income dropped by 80% when they lost the television gigs. The Walk-On-Girls still appear at exhibition matches that occur around the country. The Mirror reported: “Charlotte Wood, 34, says the game’s top darts stars “don’t understand” the decision to remove walk-on girls and would like to see them return. We speak to the players at exhibitions and at the time we had a massive support from players like Raymond van Barneveld, who couldn’t understand it either,” Wood told Daily Star Sport.”

Another strange aspect of this serious controversy is that the televised darts competitions still include dance teams (as we have here for basketball games) for intermission performances. One online commenter to the Mirror article wrote, “Why the need to remove the walk on girls, yet have the pointless dancers on stage. Get real, bring the girls back asap, they are part of the darts.”

There’s no real crossdressing angle to this. As far as I know there are no trans Walk-On Girls. There is a great deal of glitzy dresses, high heels, false eyelashes, boobs both natural and enhanced, and much flaunting of femininity in this Walk-On Girl occupation. And that’s all I need to know to throw my admittedly meager support from 3,000 miles away for the endangered Walk-On Girls.

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Category: Transgender Fun & Entertainment, Transgender Opinion