Dina’s Diner 6/292020

A RUNNING CONTROVERSY

The ESPN.com website had an article about transgender athletes, specifically a couple of Connecticut-based high school track runners. Part of the headline on the ESPN site asked “Who Gets to Be a Woman in Sports?” The article appeared on June 22, 2020.

Yearwood and Miller.

The background of the story is that an anti-LGBTQ group had filed a lawsuit to prevent two high school trans athletes from competing against cis-girls. A Connecticut state athletics policy dating back to 2013 allowed trans athletes to compete in the gender they identified with – even if they were not under a doctor’s care, on hormone therapy, or any reason other than they declared themselves the opposite gender. According to ESPN, eighteen states have similar policies in place. In the case, trans athletes Andraya Yearwood and Terry Miller, who compete on different school teams, are targeted by the suit filed on behalf of certain cis-female runners.

The interesting legal angle is that the plaintiff, Alliance Defending Freedom (who has participated in other anti-trans suits), is basing their argument on a violation of Title IX. Title IX was the program designed to put women’s athletics on the same footing as men’s. The ADF says that allowing “male” athletes to compete as females takes spots away from deserving women athletes.

There are a few things to discuss here. First, as in a lot of these anti-trans controversies, the idea that men or boys will deceitfully “identify” as trans to gain access to women’s restrooms or get on female sports teams (or any number of other examples) is patently ridiculous. It’s hard to imagine a high school age boy going through the trauma of identifying as female without a genuine belief in that gender identity. The same is true for young women identifying as male. So the opponents should get off that canard.

The other thing to note here is that trans athlete controversies are almost exclusively directed at trans female athletes rather than trans male athletes. Runners Yearwood and Miller (and others) are targeted because there is an assumption that being biologically male is an advantage in sports that doesn’t equate for biological women competing against men.

According to the article, there is no reason to segregate pre-pubescent kids on the basis of gender because there are no physical advantages or disadvantages at that stage. “Before puberty, there’s not really any biological basis or biological need to separate boys and girls in sports” according to researcher Dr. Tommy Lundberg. Puberty kicks in over several stages and happens during the middle-school and high school years. But if a trans female begins hormone therapy before their normal male puberty process starts or completes there may be no “male” advantages if they compete with women. A study showed that for adult trans athletes, there was only minimal muscle mass reduction after one year of hormone therapy. Although that study is pointed to by groups like ADF, it does not address pre-pubescent or pubescent athletes.

The article also discusses one of the female competitors who has run against both the trans athletes Andraya Yearwood and Terry Miller in Connecticut school meets. On a personal level, if you are a very good female athlete and you are now competing against someone who until a year ago was on the boys team, you can understand the consternation and suspicion of unfairness. This girl is a party to the lawsuit filed by the ADF to overturn the Connecticut policy. She had never won against Terry Miller but did finally beat her head to head in a race earlier this year.

A SECOND ACT

Josie Totah

I recently saw something online about trans actor Josie Totah. Josie, formerly known as J.J., is an actor who appeared in some movies and a couple of television series. Josie came out as trans in 2018 at the age of seventeen but I missed it. I’m not familiar with her work before or after her transition.

It occurred to me that in terms of celebrities coming out as trans, Josie is one of the few (that I can think of at the moment) who already had a career in the public eye before her transition. I’m pretty sure she is the youngest. Caitlyn Jenner was 65 when she came out; Jazz Jennings was not known before her early teen public transition; likewise activist and actress Nicole Maines; fashion model Andreja Pejic transitioned mid-career but is not a television and film star; Lana and Lily Wachowski had success as directors/producers behind the camera but not many folks could point them out in a crowd before or after their transitions.

I read a couple of past articles about Josie (when she was still boy actor J.J.). Variety called J.J. a “breakout star” for his role in the film Other People. InStyle magazine said that J.J. was the “most inspirational person” at the Sundance Film Festival for his appearance promoting the film. He responded with support for straight, gay, and non-binary kids in response to a question from the press. At the time J.J. was only fifteen and a half years old. She told another interviewer (after her coming out) that she always assumed she was gay until she saw Jazz Jennings’ show about her transition and the proverbial light bulb went on that it matched the way she had felt her whole life. She was a trans person.

So many young people are coming out it’s hard to keep track of them all. That’s one reason I missed Josie Totah’s transition. I saw an article that listed 10 celebrities who had transgender children. Who knows how many hundreds (thousands?) more never get written about or have their own television show. I still have a little doubt about young kids making truly life-changing decisions about gender identity but, if it’s going to happen, at least there are some good role models on the parenting side as well as those transitioning. Like Josie Totah.

TO PEACEABLY ASSEMBLE

Jo MaMa leads a march in Chicago.

The First Amendment is known for the free speech part but it also includes the freedom of religion and the lesser heralded freedom for the people to peaceably assemble. Whenever we have these outbreaks of demonstrations and those opposed want to quash them, I always like to remind myself and others (if anyone asks) that the country was founded on not just demonstration but violent rebellion. You might think we would be more sympathetic to peaceful demonstrations but…well.

Anyway, it occurred to me that maybe there would be some interesting fashion or gender angle in the midst of our recent demonstrations to report on here at the Diner. I knew going into this that street demonstrations are not known for fashion or gender expression (except in specific cases). Certainly there were many fierce demonstrators making their voices heard but it wasn’t the kind of “fierce” that carries her leaflets in a Louis Vuitton bag and marches in Lafayette Square in Jimmy Choo pumps.

Googling a term like “sexy protesters” turned up some attractive women from the Occupy Wall Street movement of several years ago. Unbeknownst to us here in the States, England’s celebration of International Women’s Day in March 2020 included lingerie-clad sex workers protesting for rights and protections. Gay Pride festivities always brought out a bevy of drag queens, local crossdressers, and leather-clad tops and bottoms of both genders but the parades have been cancelled because of the virus. The anti-virus shutdown protests were notable mostly for gun-toting and ammo belts – if you find that appealing. If you’re old enough to remember the Women’s Lib/Equal Rights Amendment protests in the 1970s there were usually some daring ladies who bared their breasts to make a point or two in favor of their cause. The current Black Lives Matter protests turned out some celebrities but they were not making fashion statements (fortunately) while protesting.

I did come across a couple of articles that chastised some Instagram and YouTube “influencers” for using the street demonstrations as a backdrop for their self-promotional postings. Glamour magazine had an article in which this was reported: “The most egregious examples have blown up online: A white woman in a bralette, blocking actual protesters so she could stage a photo shoot with a “Black Lives Matter” sign. A white couple trying to get a picture of themselves suspended in a jump in front of a row of tanks sent to subdue protestors. A white woman in a sundress sidling up to sweating, screaming protesters, posing for a pic, and then walking away. A white woman in a mini camo dress seeming to use actual Black protesters as human props.” Some Instagrammers and YouTubers were photographed or videoed in front of or inside looted stores.

Alas, I did find one story out of Chicago that made me feel good. “Thousands join ‘Drag March for Change’ in support of Black Lives Matter on North Side” was a headline on the WGNTV.com website on June 14, 2020. The Drag March was organized by Chicago queen Joe Lewis aka Jo MaMa after an earlier march a week before was cut off from downtown by raised bridges in Chicago. According to another story about the march, Jo MaMa said they were hoping for a few hundred supporters. They drew thousands. The aerial shot of the Drag March on the WGN site looked like wall-to-wall people for blocks.

To peaceably assemble – in drag or not, influencers be damned – lets hear it for the good ol’ First Amendment.

THIS MASK-ERADE

As the Coronavirus numbers start to ramp up again in certain areas, the message to wear masks in public seems to be getting stronger than even at the beginning of the crisis. Except for the implications for our public health, I don’t mind that much. I like seeing women in their face masks.

Eyes Above Mask Below.

I started to notice this during my forays to the supermarket during the spring months of the outbreak. The mask adds an air of mystery to the female face. It also focuses attention to the eyes, eyebrows, and cheekbones of the woman. I noticed this many years ago in regards to Muslim women who wore the niqab over their lower face. I don’t come into much contact with women in niqabs so the Covid masks have been a welcome diversion to my normal woman-watching habit.

I was pleased to see that I was not alone. I found an online article in Medium.com titled “Women in Face Masks are Hot.” The author, Christine Stevens wrote, “A woman’s eyes are her sexiest feature. I see that now. I don’t need to see anything else. I have fallen in love a thousand times this week at Trader Joe’s after the mayor instituted the mandatory face mask law.” Ms. Stevens is gay but she also acknowledges that men in bandana-style face coverings evoke the sexy bandit imagery from popular culture.

A mask that is not COVID approved.

Masks have been a feature in the BD/SM culture for a long time but, as much as I like fetish fashion, the mask doesn’t do anything for me. In crossdressing circles, there is a subculture of female masking that provides the wearer a full face covering that usually looks something akin to a blow-up sex doll. In sports, college women’s softball players wear batting helmets with face guards which also directs the focus to their eyes and cheekbones as the batter focuses herself on the upcoming pitch. Football helmets do the same for men. The perfect circle of the helmet, the visible padding against the cheeks and forehead, and the chin protector can make a handsome player take on a mysteriously sexy image.

It seems as though we may be in for at least a few more months of masking protocols. Embrace it for health purposes. Enjoy it for a unique view of women’s beauty we may become nostalgic for some time in the Covid-free future.

SOME-THONG ON MY MIND

I just returned from a vacation in Florida. I spent some time on the beach while I was there. Florida is the only place where I’ve seen women in thong bikinis on the beaches. I don’t know if it is allowed all over but in my small beach-going experiences Florida is the only place I’ve seen them live and in person, so to speak.

Approaching the beach through the small dunes (this was the Gulf Coast) it is always exciting to see some female derrieres framed by the thongs in the distance. In all but the rarest cases, though, it is usually a bit of a letdown. Some derrieres are a little too dumpy, some are a little too skinny. Sometimes the normal, un-choreographed movements of the human form just doesn’t look that sexy even if the attractive female in the thong would be a head-turner in a potato sack.

A Thong in Florida.

This is also true – in my estimation – with bikinis in general. One afternoon, a quite attractive woman plopped down several yards in front of me and peeled off her outerwear to reveal a bright yellow bikini. She had a great body. But when she walked into the surf and re-emerged later, I didn’t find it sexy at all. Maybe it’s the decades of carefully posed, photographed and re-touched images of swimsuit models we see but no woman – even an actual swimsuit model – could live up to the ideal image.

If someone asked me to rank various outfits for sex appeal, the bikini – including the thong version – would be way, way down on the list. Not long ago, I wrote about crossdressers in their swimsuits and I admire the efforts to wear one or two piece women’s swimwear. But if I ain’t that crazy about some twenty-something smokeshow in a yellow bikini, a crossdresser in any swimsuit isn’t going to change my mind.

Like to make a comment? Login here and use the comment area below.

Tags: crossdressing, featured, opinion, Transgender

Category: Transgender Fun & Entertainment, Transgender Opinion