Dina’s Diner 6/24/24

HER DRAG NAME CAN NOW BE TAKEN LITERALLY

The New York Times had an article about a drag queen who won a $1.1 million judgment in a defamation case in May. The article appeared on May 26, 2024. Our Trans News Now feature covered it on May 27, 2024.

To recap the controversy, a blogger, Summer Bushnell, alleged that Eric Posey, who performs as drag queen Mona Liza Million, exposed himself during an outdoor performance in 2022. “Can this guy be arrested for exposing his genitals to minors?” she wrote in her blog entry. She included a video clip but the genital area was blurred out so it was impossible to tell if her charge was accurate. Authorities viewed the unblurred original footage and determined that Eric/Mona Liza did not expose his genitals during his performance. This all took place in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, by the way.

Eric as Mona Liza Million.

The jury awarded Eric Posey $900K for damages and $250K for punitive damages. The news reports from the Times and the local Idaho paper made it clear that the allegation was false. Bushnell and her attorney tried to wiggle out from responsibility but the jury found for Eric. The Times article also points out the various controversies about drag performances over the past several years.

I looked at Bushnell’s Facebook page and it’s full of right-wing conservative claptrap and Bushnell herself looks like a self-righteous and determined crank. At the 2022 Pride event that spurred the defamation, police arrested 31 members of a right wing group who planned to riot at the event. Idaho has become something of a hotbed for conservative, nationalist, and white supremacist sympathizers and activist groups.

Speaking of conservative cuckoo activists, many news services on May 31, 2024 reported that Stephen Thomas Farrea of Rhode Island was arrested and charged for possession of child pornography. The karmic element of this bit of news is that Farrea is a member of a neo-Nazi group that has harassed several drag queen story hours and called the performing queens “pedo scum” and numerous homophobic slurs. The Boston Globe reported, “At [Farrea’s] home, the police seized several electronic devices that “contained sexually explicit images of children.”

Truth is stranger than fiction. But to close on happier news, congratulations to Eric Posey/Mona Liza (I Just Won A) Million.

GOOD SPORTS

A golf spectator.

I attended a Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) tournament recently. The LPGA events are easier to navigate with smaller crowds than the men’s tournaments. It’s family friendly with strollers and toddlers well represented. As might be expected, a large number of women and girls attend the tournaments.

I noticed that many of the girls and women were dressed well. Nothing extravagant. It’s not the Kentucky Derby. But dressed in sporty, summery outfits that you don’t normally see on the streets or shopping centers these days.

Not to oversell the idea, the majority of ladies were dressed in their everyday casual wear. But it was so nice to see some young women – and even a few older gals – in sporty golf dresses, skirts or skorts, and various forms of head covering from simple ball caps to bucket hats to fashion forward bonnets. There was an Asian girl with a sun bonnet that afforded as much covering as a nun’s habit and with her sunglasses she looked like something you’d see in Vogue or at least Sports Illustrated. An older gal who was entering the tournament in front of me had her gray-streaked hair up in a loose bun under a golf visor, her slim shape covered in a sleeveless black top and yellow skorts, and clean white sneakers below. I envied the man (husband, boyfriend?) who was escorting her.

The lady golfers are a mixed bag fashion-wise. Some favor outfits: short golf dresses with bike shorts underneath for modesty for all the bending and squatting; others with put-together outfits of separates – always with their sponsors patches prominent. But most just opt for simple comfortable golf attire as you’d see on any course in the world. So it was interesting to see some of the well-dressed female spectators besting the pros they came to watch.

We’ve become such a nation (and world) of casual clothing devotees that it was reaffirming to see some women fashionably dressed, even at a casual event like a golf tournament. I don’t know if there is any lesson here for crossdressers. If I wasn’t personally tuned into women’s clothing perhaps I’d never even notice what I identified as an interesting dynamic at work. I guess it comes down to the most obvious conclusion I can think of: women look good when dressed well.

WHAT ARE YOU WEARING?

This item isn’t about the cliché phone sex or hot chat question. The Huffington Post had an article headlined Having ‘The Talk’ About Skimpy Clothing. Avoid These Mistakes. It appeared on the website on June 7, 2024.

Perhaps Inappropriate?

Over the past several years, there have been numerous instances of “inappropriate” clothing and the reactions to said clothing reported in the media. It almost always involves women whether young or old being called out for their clothing choices. It has happened in workplaces, commercial airplanes, schools (subjects being both students and teachers), even family gatherings.

The HuffPost article was aimed at parents of teens (again, focused on teen girls) and the tug of war over skimpy attire. The issue reminded me of a common discussion topic among crossdressers when some dressed inappropriately for public outings. The competing factors of personal freedom, safety, messaging, and representation are remarkably the same.

“It’s still a sad reality that what people wear can bring bad attention,” said Rudy Hernandez, a mental health therapist at Kaiser Permanente in California. “As a parent, we have an instinct to protect them from reputational, verbal and possible emotional abuse” they may encounter if they wear barely there clothing, he explained. As it relates to crossdressing the concern might be with sexually suggestive or fetish clothing in public spaces more so than short-shorts or revealing tops. The therapist suggests asking “Why do you want to wear that?” or “What sort of statement are you hoping to send with your clothing?” The idea being not to come across as negative and judgmental from the jump. As adult crossdressers we need to be able to ask ourselves these questions and be honest with our answers.

Of course, context is important in choosing what to wear. Whether you’re nightclubbing, going to a fetish event, a private party, a public event, shopping, etc, etc, will determine the appropriate clothing choices. In those initial conversations from long ago there was a concern that each individual crossdresser represented the larger community when presenting outside. That’s a big responsibility that nobody really signed up for. Still, it’s a consideration to weigh – or discard – if you feel like pushing a boundary or two.

WHAT A BODY. . .SHAPER

The Huffington Post carried an article about men’s shapewear. It appeared on the site May 8, 2024 and was headlined Men’s Shapewear Is Here But Will Men Actually Wear It?

Every so often some enterprising marketer will try to get men to buy products patterned after traditional women’s items. I remember a report from decades ago about “pantyhose for men” that would ensure our socks never slipped down our calves again. The late Harry Reasoner critiqued it along these lines: “men can find a way to keep their socks up without attaching them to our waists.”

Men’s Skims

But the undaunted marketers return now with men’s shapewear along the line of Spanx and Skims, two popular women’s brands to control figure flaws. According to the HuffPost article, about 5% of sales of women’s shapewear is purchased by men for men. The market for all men’s underwear is $5.7 billion so shapewear companies hope to tap into that. The article reports that Skims “launched Skims Mens, a lineup that includes briefs, undershirts, boxers and leggings. Prices range from $16 to $54, depending on the item, and the sizes are extensive and body inclusive.”

At present the main users of men’s shapewear seem to be guys who are fitness buffs rather than flabby fellas. Skims began promoting its men’s line as “active sportywear.” One subject said, “I just wear it in the gym, though. I keep it pretty tight, so it would be quite uncomfortable to wear all day.” The article said he wears a compression top and compression shorts or tights whenever he’s running or doing high intensity workouts.

The article also mentioned a problem that I thought of immediately when I saw this article. The shapewear shorts tend to roll down at the waistline if you have a little belly fat. Pantyhose has this annoying feature for those of us who do not have sleek midriffs. Oh, do you have that problem too?

The shapewear would have the advantage of sleekness for crossdressers choosing to try them out. Traditional corsets and waist cinchers or even old school girdles tend to be lumpy and visible under certain fashions. The Spanx or Skims styles would provide a flatter silhouette and perhaps be more comfortable to wear. And if men’s shapewear actually becomes a thing, we could shop for them openly with proper sizing rather than guessing online or skulking around the lingerie departments.

I guess we could still skulk around lingerie departments. We just won’t need to do it to find shapewear.

READY FOR A POOL PARTY?

The New York Times had an article in the Style section headlined Conjuring Bridgerton at the Beach. The article appeared on May 27, 2024.

A Selkie swimsuit.

The Times noted that “Selkie, a brand known for fairy-tale dresses, has expanded into swimwear with bathing suits full of ruffles, ribbons and ruching.” It noted that “cottagecore” clothing with modern takes on classic feminine dresses first started to become popular during the pandemic stay-at-home times.

The Times headline also acknowledges the Bridgerton TV series as possible inspiration. The women’s brand Selkie embraced both those popular consumer sentiments and included sizing that was inclusive for all body types. Their new swimwear line does the same.

The Times reported that Selkie founder Kimberley Gordon “was inspired by pieces from past decades – particularly, the 1930s through the 1950s, a time before revealing, overtly sexy styles started to replace more modest suits that flattered women’s bodies without showing as much skin. ‘I don’t want to have to go shave or get a bikini wax every time I go swimming,’ Ms. Gordon said.”

This excerpt from the article captures the idea: “The bathing suits are available in patterns like toile, gingham and banana plaid. They’re sold in the same sizes as the brand’s dresses and are meant to channel those garments’ “ethereal feel,” Justine Babb, Selkie’s head designer, said. But instead of organza, the swim line was made with materials like cotton and Spandex®. “We basically wanted to make something that was like putting on a Puff Dress, or a Selkie dress, to go to the pool,” Ms. Babb, 38, said. Most pieces have fanciful elements like ruching, ribbon ties, ruffle trims and cap sleeves. There are also swim skirts and coverups for those who, as Ms. Gordon put it, “don’t want to show their whole body when they go out.””

It’s an interesting idea for crossdressers who would enjoy a swimsuit that isn’t too skimpy or made with thin material that can be unflattering for male bodies. The femininity of the swimwear is akin to the much-loved French Maid’s uniform what with all the ruffles and flounces, gingham patterns, and the like. A little flounce or ruffled skirt can also camouflage that most distracting difference between the boys and the girls in swimwear. You know, gurls, there IS a difference.

Tags: crossdressing, fashion, featured

Category: Transgender Fun & Entertainment, Transgender Opinion