Dina’s Diner – October 19, 2020

GETTING OUT THE VOTE; GETTING INTO OFFICE

USA Today had an article about trans candidates for elective office in the September 25, 2020 edition. The headline says it all: “In historic year for trans candidates, Sarah McBride poised to become the nation’s first openly transgender state senator.”

Sarah McBride

I was surprised to read that she would be the first state senator because it seems that our own The Week In Trans feature has chronicled so many trans candidates holding many different offices. The article noted that there were 28 trans persons serving in elected positions across the country. They serve in local or state legislative positions. So Sarah McBride in Delaware would indeed be the first state senator-level trans officeholder. However, the article notes that there are trans candidates running for U.S. House of Representative seats but their outcomes are less likely than McBride’s.

The Victory Institute tracks LGBTQ politics and has an interactive map of officeholders. The interesting thing is that trans officeholders serve in many disparate locations. It’s not all coastal liberal outposts. Georgia, Alaska, Indiana and Oklahoma, for example, are all represented.

The article reported, “The election of President Donald Trump spurred trans people to consider elected office instead of just local community organizing and advocacy, according to Helen Boyd Kramer, an author and instructor of gender studies at Lawrence University in Wisconsin. She said trans people understand the unnecessary politicization of bodies, choice, and medical care in deep ways. “The threat at this point for trans people is pretty direct,” she said, adding: “I think a lot of trans people who find themselves otherwise able are running in big and small offices all over the place. So having that representation right now seems especially important.”

Interesting but not very surprising that the renewed push to restrict rights for trans people would generate pushback from trans people. It’s a story as old as politics itself. Women’s, Black, and Gay political power grew as response to lack of representation and worse treatment. The surge in elected trans officeholders and even more candidates continues that legacy.

GIVING YOURSELF A VOICE

Sabrina doing voice coaching.

I watched the pair of voice training videos by TGForum.com’s own Sabrina Symington. They appeared on the site here on August 24 and September 21, 2020.

I wasn’t particularly interested in trying to alter my voice but I thought it would be interesting to see the process involved. I guess I have always spoken in my natural voice while crossdressed. On those occasions when I’ve had conversations with “civilians” while I was crossdressed, I imagined the disconnect between my appearance and my voice probably seemed odd. And there’s always a point at which the drone of my own voice annoys even myself.

I have to say that Sabrina is a compelling instructor on this topic. She herself has a great voice. That may be the greatest advertisement for her instructorship since Sy Sperling told folks he was not just the president of the Hair Club for Men but a client, too. And all joking aside, Sabrina has a relaxing, calming manner as she runs through the explanation and demonstration of various vocal training techniques.

Those techniques involve a fair amount of what could be described as “funny noises” which she emits in an unselfconscious performance that is quite charming, really. Sabrina has additional vocal videos available on YouTube also.

The closest I ever came to anything like Sabrina’s training was an adult evening course I took decades ago titled “How to Lose you Philadelphia Accent.” It had nothing to do with my crossdressing life and I’m not sure how successful it was since most people in my adoptive hometown can immediately tell I’m “not from around here.” It did help (I think) to flatten out my vowels and practicing the techniques were akin to some of the instruction that Sabrina gives.

I remember a few times when I was out crossdressed in a pair or group in a public venue, sometimes an emissary from some gawkers would come over to ask what time it is, as a gambit to hear the voice and confirm or deny whether I or one of my friends were “guys dressed up.”

If only we had Sabrina’s training to provide a properly feminized response to confuse the dudes even further. It would make it all worthwhile.

MIRROR, MIRROR

Any article whose headline starts with Japanese Cosplayer. . . will get my attention. So when I saw Japanese Cosplayer Reveals How to Take the Perfect Mirror Selfie, I gobbled up the advice as if it was a heaping plate of sukiyaki. The article appeared on the SoraNews24.com site on September 23, 2020.

Furiko takes a selfie.

The article was fairly brief so I have copied bits in their entirety. It begins, “Nobody takes a selfie quite like a Japanese cosplayer. Over the years, they’ve shown us all sorts of tips for looking good in the frame and the results have been stunningly professional. So when cosplayer and Twitter user Furiko (@909_Furiyura) told us she had a hack for taking a great mirror selfie, the Internet sat up and took notes.”

It continued, “Furiko’s first tip is to take the selfie with the camera upside down, as this helps to get your whole body in the shot from a flattering angle. The next tip is to hold the camera beneath your waistline, as this will help to elongate the body. Stretching one leg forward will further elongate the legs, as will stretching the back. All these points work together to lengthen the entire silhouette, helping you achieve the leggy proportions of your favourite anime character.”

Well, we know crossdressers like selfies whether taken through a mirror or at arm’s length so the simple tips here might help you improve your shots. I’m not sure why holding the camera upside down makes much of a difference but I like the idea of holding the camera at a lower angle. Likewise the idea of putting one leg forward to elongate the body and let those factors create a slimming illusion of length. The SoraNews24 article has two photos that show the improvement of using Furiko’s suggestions versus not.

Now that we have that germ of an idea in our noodles, I can just imagine a nation of crossdressers standing in front of their mirrors, dangling their phone with two fingers, sticking one leg out, arching their back . . . and falling backwards into their bathtubs.

BABY, IT’S COLD OUTSIDE

The New York Times had an article that appeared in the October 3, 2020 edition headlined Arctic Expedition’s Dress Code Raises Concerns about Sexism in Science. The controversy unfolded on a research ship traveling through the Arctic Ocean on a weeks-long voyage.

Not approved attire for the expedition.

The article reported, “About two weeks into a six-week mission, leaders aboard the Fedorov brought up a strict dress-code policy to journalists, students and scientists on board, Ms. Harvey [a participating journalist] said. The next day, she said, in a smaller meeting with other journalists, it was explained that, as a “safety issue,” leggings, very tight-fitting clothing, short shorts and crop tops were not permitted.”

On my first skimming of the story, it was confusing to imagine who would be wearing short shorts on an arctic expedition. There was another mention that thermal underwear was prohibited . . . on an arctic expedition? (The snug fit of thermal undies apparently make them problematic under the dress code logic). However, on closer reading the article said, within the confines of the ship, the crew is comfortably heated and casual attire was usual in the common areas. It was clear to the women on board — who were a small minority — the newly announced dress policy was aimed at them.

The Times reported “The woman holding the meeting was “careful not to come right out and connect the dots,” Ms. Harvey said. “She did not say, ‘We are concerned that the men on board this ship will harass you if you dress a certain way,’ but she pointed out repeatedly there were a lot of men aboard this ship. The immediate reaction to our meeting was sort of shock and disbelief,” Ms. Harvey said, adding that there was widespread resentment and some alarm on the ship. The implication that many people took from those meetings was that women should change the way they dress in order to manage the behavior of men aboard the ship,” she said. She later discovered in her own reporting that there was an incident of sexual harassment on the ship, she said.”

The controversy also brought up the lack of representation of women in positions of authority in science. There is a very real reluctance for women to report cases of harassment and outright assault in the sciences because of the predominantly male hierarchy. Advancement and opportunities to participate in field expeditions (such as the Arctic trip) are mostly decided by male superiors.

But the idea that women are responsible for male behavior and need to dress in unprovocative modes is a factor in many dress codes. We’ve seen this occur in schools, on airplanes, and certainly in workplaces. Even among highly educated professionals on a large scientific expedition, the presence of booty in tight yoga pants could sink the whole project. Or so they think.

GOING TO THE LIBRARY AGAIN AND AGAIN

I like going to the library. I always have since I was a kid. On one of my recent visits to my local main branch, the young lady at the circulation desk melted my heart — at least a little bit.

Reading is fundamental.

No, she didn’t look like Margot Robbie with her hair up in a bun, or Beyoncé wearing a pair of horn-rimmed glasses. She was just a cute twenty-something woman with that kind of quirky appearance in facial expression and clothing that made working in a library a perfect marriage of occupation and individual.

A week ago, I visited one of the satellite branches hoping their selection would have some different items. I feel like I’ve picked over the same stuff at the main branch a hundred times. The young lady at the circulation desk looked pretty close to the woman I mentioned above. She had some of the same appealing qualities but I was certain it was another person. Quirky beauties must work for a living and if our library system nabbed two of them so much the better. I need to read faster so I can reconnoiter both branches and do further research.

It occurred to me that there are a handful of historically female occupations that fuel male fantasies. Nurses, schoolteachers, uniformed police women, and yes, librarians among many others. How many times have I (or you, perhaps) stopped at an unfamiliar roadside diner and crushed on one of the waitresses? Tell me you never circled around a department store’s cosmetics counter to get a better look at the beautiful saleswoman.

I think crossdressers often have a specific image of how they would like to be perceived based on certain female archetypes. And not every crossdresser models herself after a Vegas showgirl. Perusing popular CD websites, you can see many of us are going for an image closer to the restaurant hostess than the cocktail waitress. Or even the slightly eccentric-looking woman working in the library who may take off her glasses and let down her hair after hours.

“Pardon me, Miss, do you have any books about falling in love?”

Tags: featured, opinion

Category: Transgender Fun & Entertainment, Transgender Opinion