Newsletter
ARCHIVE

 Author
INDEX

[Upfront] The Month
[Performance] A writer's life
[Life Lived] Ode to an actor's life
[A CD Eye for the Arts] Drag
[Blogosphere] Becky's T*Blog
[Lifestyles] The Crossdresser Fry
[From the Archive] ET TU JANEI - April 1992
[Last Laugh] off the mark

[Upfront]
THE MONTH

If your fantasy includes thigh-high boots, fishnets and tight-lacing, then the “how-to” article in our new [lifestyles] section may be just what you’re angling for.

Chairman Gloria Fenton reflects on her prolific writing life.

Diane Frank turns to poetry to express an inner meaning of being read (or not) in public.

Photographer Diane Arbus captured Drag like no one else. LFS presents a singular example along with Ms. Arbus' enlightened descriptive narrative.

Blogosphere: LFS introduced our readers to the wit and wisdom of the properly British, Becky Envérité, back in September 2005. Now the inimitable BBC has caught the wave and interviewed Becky about her TV/blogging lifestyle, and recent engagement! Listen to the lively discussion.

Fourteen years ago Deborah Lee discussed "Star Trek" and natural gender suppression.

There's humor, and more!

Elaine

[Performance]
A WRITER’S LIFE

By Gloria Fenton

Another Opening, Another Show
At the December meeting of Alpha Omega the world renowned Alpha Omega Dramatic Ensemble proved, once more, that they were up to the task of being on the cutting edge of theatrical excellence. This year’s Christmas play, “Santa Claus Ain’t Coming to Town, ‘Cause Santa Claus Ain’t Nowhere Around” was the catalyst that led the ensemble to new heights in their performances.

But epic in proportions as the play is, it was the Alpha Omega Dramatic Ensemble with such crafted skills that brought the play to life. Right from the beginning, Diane Brennan, as the Narrator, was able to captivate the audience, and then masterfully guide them through the intricate weaving of the script, to the riveting final scene and epilog. Bravisimo, Diane B.

It can be said that some performers are destined to play certain characters, and so it was with this play. With Diane Brennan as the Narrator, she led us to each new and thrilling characterization while seeming to only be a background performer. This enabled the other characters to give from the fullness of their craft, so each owned their parts.

Abigail became Harry Caine right before our eyes. Her mastery of southern dialect, the artful way that she put on and took off her sunglasses, and her daunting stage presence made us believe the essence of her being the fearless C.S.I. detective from Miami sent to C.S.I. North Pole to help find Santa. This Grand Dame of the stage certainly is not a crone, but a diva.

And speaking of divas, it is difficult to comprehend that anyone other than Kate could have been Mrs. Claus. From the moment Kate spoke her first line, “That man just can’t wait to get his hands on my cookies, the audience knew she was Mrs. Claus. As you followed Mrs. Claus from the Ladies’ Luncheon to the Christmas Kiss, and then as she left the stage, you were constantly aware that she would have some really good cookies for Santa once he got home. It was a truly amazing performance.

Not to be forgotten was a new player in the ensemble. Chloe Prince, in her first performance in a Christmas play, took on the demanding role of Captain Kirk (Elf). In this role, Captain Kirk then had to portray Miss Tesspock in order to infiltrate the Ladies’ Luncheon, and get a secret message to Mrs. Claus. Though new to the AO stage, it can be noted that it will not take Chloe long to become one more diva in the Alpha Omega Dramatic Ensemble. Good Work, Chloe!

Another performer vital to the continued success of the ensemble is the dynamic, Diane Frank. Diane Frank, not only took on two distinct roles in this play, but also served as musical coordinator. This tour de force can only be done by such an expert performer. As Diane performed the musical score, she also went right into character as the street-wise King Elf, and then later in the play became Ima Christian. Diane Frank truly is a star among stars.

I should also mention that Z joined in the play to do a superb rendition of the song “Lime Jell-O” for the scene at the Ladies’ Luncheon. Kudos, Z! The words lime Jell-O, marshmallow, cottage cheese surprise, still ring in my ears.

Also, Jean was ready to perform the classic “Bring in the Crones.” Thank you, Jean. Though I did not hear all of the song, I will long to hear it at another time.

The next performer for me to applaud is Kathleen, whose performance as Kathleen (Elf) was also such a memorable part of the experience. Kathleen is a survivor of more Christmas plays than she probably cares to remember, and she also does double duty as the script coordinator. No Christmas play is complete without her.

And then, lastly, there is I, your humble servant, that did my best with the role of Oswald (Elf) that I reprised from other Christmas plays.

It is, however, the rest of the cast and the audience that take what I write and make it memorable, and hopefully, a bit of fun for everyone to enjoy. And, so I thank you all for your efforts and endurance. Be forewarned, however, that now it is time to plan for next year.

Articles, Plays, and Beyond
For most of the last eighteen years, I have had the privilege of writing a Christmas play or doing some sort of program for the AO Christmas party. The point of this exercise is to hopefully bring some humor to the party and to the holiday season, and to just let everybody have some fun as part of the cast or even as a part of the audience.

Crossdressing is generally, somehow, brought into the theme of the play or program. I try to present a lighter side to something that can be a very serious matter for some. This year’s C.S.I. North Pole was my inspiration. Not only was a crime scene investigation part of the play, but so was finding out that C.S.I. also stood for Christmas Sisters International.

Past Christmas plays have included parodies such as Christmas in Oz, the Grinch, Ebenezer’s Secret, It’s a Wonderful Life, and T’was the Night Before Christmas. At other times Oswald Elf, Santa, or even Mrs. Claus made special appearances at the Christmas parties. Rambo Rabbit was even at one meeting just before Easter.

The plays and most of the characters have all come from my very warped imagination and sense of humor. I do stand guilty as charged for these creations. I like to make people laugh. Elaine, our newsletter editor, is going to put the 2006 Christmas play in our January newsletter, and in a short time will also post some past Christmas plays on the web site as well. If you should read the plays, I would like to hear your comments, good or not.

Over the years, I have also written several newsletter articles, and I would ask that if you should read them, that you let me know your thoughts on them as well. I have written a lot about my life, both good and bad, over the years. If anyone should choose to, please feel free to ask me questions, as part of an open forum. I will write an answer for the newsletter in reply. I have considered writing a book based on my life and experience, as well.

Till next time, take care.
Sincerely, Gloria Fenton

[Life Lived]
ODE TO AN ACTOR'S LIFE

By Diane Frank

Kymberleigh Richards, former publisher of Crosstalk, recalls when a twenty-something gent with a set of Lexus keys who was ahead of her in line at the Thrifty Drug turned and said "You're not fooling anyone, you know." Kym replied, "Good. That wasn't the point."

I've had a response of my own for this sort of situation, and I turned it into a poem a couple months ago:

He stood ahead of me in line at the checkout of the drugstore,
softly jangling the keys to his BMW.
Turning my way his eyes possessed me as only a man’s can.
Smoothly calculating the divine ratios of reproductive success.
Something was wanting.
Was it my thick waist, insufficiently constrained,
My hips not padded enough,
Something unnatural about the swell of my bosom?
Perhaps my shoulders or the thickness of my neck.
Or maybe some faint dark stain that the cheap primer
and paint on my cheeks could not conceal,
showing my glossy red lips to be too thin,
my jaw too strong.
And my eyes, lined and shadowed
that could meet desire with desire - too bold.

Dropping me in the remainder isle with all the other goods that don’t sell
he still insisted he owned the facts of my existence.
“You’re not fooling anyone, you know”
“I know,” I replied. “The sad thing, is that when I’m dressed like you
I fool everyone, all the time”

DRAG

Miss Stormé De Larverie, The Lady
Who Appears to Be a Gentleman. 1961
Diane Arbus (American, 1923-1971)
gelatin silver print

Click on the cover below to learn more about and buy Diane Arbus:   Revelations via Amazon

[Blogosphere]
Becky's T*Blog

Tuesday, January 2, 2007

Envérité Speaks!

I'm eating away at my 15 minutes of fame in easy-to-swallow 5-minute chunks. So what did you think of my latest stint of prime-time exposure?

Okay, for those of your who possibly weren't listening to Radio Five Live at 2AM this morning, and missed the "Pods and Blogs" show, the BBC have a convenient "listen again" feature... You'll hear a guy called Simon talking about "Becky T's Blog," but it is me. Honest.

[And, here at Alpha Omega HQ we have our own easy listen button. Just click below to hear Becky's BBC interview - Ed]

(takes a few moments to load)

Becky's September 2005 La Femme Silhouette début
Becky's September 2006 La Femme Silhouette return

[Lifestyles]
ALTERNATIVE

The Cross Dresser Fry

The Crossdresser Fry is a Great Lakes area steelhead streamer that will work on almost any predator fish including bass and big trout. Fish it while wading in streams or rivers using a down stream drift and at or near the end of the drift start a stripped retrieve. From a boat using a sink tip line cast to the bank or any likely structure where fish might be holding and strip back using an erratic strip, strip and pause retrieve allowing the fly to sink between strips. For lakes and ponds use the same method of retrieving from a boat or casting out from the shore.

Hook: TMC 105 Size 4
Thread: UNI-Thread 8/0 White
Tail: Natural Grizzly Chick-A-Bou
Tail Flash: Angel Hair Pearl Green (Angler's Choice)
Back: Peacock Herl
Body: 2/3 Pearl or Polar fee 1/3 Fire Red Fire Star Dubbing (Angler's Choice)
Hackle: Teal Flank (Collar Style)
Eyes: Small Black bead chain.

Tying The Crossdresser Fry:
1) Tie in first Chick-a-bou feather at the bend of the hook.
2) Tie in second Chick-a-bou by the tip at the bend and collar hackle with it around the first feather.
3) Tie in a few wisps of Angel hair on both side of the Chick-a-bou extending a little past the tail.
4) Tie in peacock herl just in front of the tail.
5) Dub body with Fire Star 2/3 Polar Ice or Pearl 1/3 Fire Red.
6) Collar hackle with teal flank.
7) Tie in eyes, crisscross and then figure eight.
8) Pull peacock over the top and tie off.

Fish this fly on the swing or strip it in and it just comes alive!

[From the Archive]
La Femme Silhouette - April 1992

ET TU JANEI

By Deborah LEE

Leave it to the writers and producers of Star Trek: The Next Generation to include social issues we have today and apply them to some alien nation. In this case we are talking about a people called the Janei. The storyline is about the Janei and their world which is based on androgyny - no outward display of gender distinction - and the problems that arise when old feelings are remembered and the choice is made not to suppress them.

In this particular story, the Enterprise is called to the home planet of the Janei to help discover the whereabouts of a missing Janei space shuttle. Commander Riker is liaison to the Janei and must work closely with one of the Janei named Zorin. I would like to quote or paraphrase some of the dialog from the story and make comment on it.

One of the early references to the differences in our species was when Zorin asked of Riker, "What is it that makes you different from females?" Riker's answer was cute but typical evasive male as he answers, "Snips and snails and puppy dog's tails." Zorin responds with, "Oh you have a tail?" Riker explains the old saying about boys being that and girls being "Sugar and spice and everything nice." Zorin replies, "that makes it sound better -- sugar and spice." Obviously Zorin can make the distinction from this colloquial reference that even our society places great emphasis on the fact girls are associated with that which pleases our palate, "sugar and spice," whereas the male is deemed "rough and ready," not at all palatable. Zorin states the reference "It makes one want to be female... to choose female or the later."

An interesting statement is made by Riker, "Without the battle of the sexes, there would be less conflicts." A common conception of the interaction of gender traits. That, without gender distinction and unisexuality, there would be less conflict with each other. But Zorin states there are still differences and thus conflicts do arise.

Zorin states in another moment, "Long ago we had two sexes, but we have evolved." Is this the outcome of evolution, that distinctions lessen and males and females of the species are bound to meld? I don't think so, but long ago people could not fly. I know there has been in the past some minor attempts by a small minority to establish unisex clothing but that effort failed miserably. I definitely don't want a unisex-clothed society. It would take the fun out of crossdressing!

"Commander. I'd like to tell you something... something that's not easy to say." How many times have these very words, without the "Commander," started a long and grueling night with our loved ones? The intonations when this line was said immediately brought back those memories. Testing the grounds ensured the person is genuine and we are willing to take a risk with that person since our existence is so lonely without love and acceptance. It was obvious from the start of this show that, although Zorin was a different person and without the amenities of outward gender preference, Riker was still attracted to Zorin and she was willing to expose her inner most secret.

"Occasionally among my people there are a few who are different." This was the lead into an explanation that, on her world, there are drop outs, those who are different enough that their social life is difficult due to their inner feelings. "In our world, feelings are rejected..." Janei society had chosen the path of less emotional feeling, an attribute of females on Earth. The Janei chose to show more male-likeness so there would be less pain with interpersonal relationships than members of our species, especially females, must sometimes suffer. I have noticed in other portrayals in other movies where a female-dominated society has occurred they are no longer feminine but very much the opposite. Is this just the fantasy of a guy who wrote the script, or the hope of the woman who wrote it? "Viva la difference," I say.

"There are those who have these urges... live guarded and secret lives." Zorin lets us know that her society is intolerant of anyone who slips outside the norms of the society. This is so familiar, isn't it? "We seek each other out, always hiding, always terrified of being discovered." As crossdressers, this is our story, this is our life. Is it one of choice? Do we choose to be secretive? Do we want to be cloistered? Sometimes I believe we do, since this common ground allows us to concentrate on survival and less on those idiotic manifestations or idiosyncrasies that would otherwise drive us away from bonding with each other. After all, who in their right mind would want to be around a bitch like me? (HA! HA!)

Riker asked of Zorin, "How long have you known you were like this?" Her answer was very much the same as most of ours, "All my life, but is wasn't until I was older..." Older, what has age got to do with it? We were in pain and yet no one, or very few, could see our pain and fewer still would ever ask what the problem was. Then comes guilt and we cannot confide in another until we have established ourselves as independent beings. Things like losing a job, losing loved ones or relationships show us we are ships passing in the night and WE are responsible, not others, for our beliefs and actions.

Psycho Technic Treatments - the answer to the Janei's problem of conformity. A few zaps and Voila, you're cured. When you're cured, you become peaceful since you fit in and become less strain on the society. How many horror films and actual events have occurred on our planet in the name of conformity? True, sheep are easier to raise than a child is, but isn't the growth of a child a wonderful thing? Is lack of differences the goal of a society? There would be less chance to have some of the social ills we experience, but is it really worth it?

"I know what it means to be different. I have to live a life of pretense and lies, but with you it's different." Zorin tells Riker how he seems to be content with his choices and that contentment and self-acceptance is what she wants. Following the social norm is less traumatic but living a lie is a burden we carry every day - a load some cannot bear.

"I am living a lie, I am female. I was born this way. I have those feelings, those longings all my life. It's not unnatural. I am not sick because I feel this way. I do not need to be helped. I do not need to be cured. What I need and what all of those like me need is your understanding, your compassion. We have not injured you in any way, yet we are scorned and attacked and all because we are different. What we do is no different from what you do. We talk and laugh. We complain about work and we wonder about growing old. We talk about our families and we worry about the future and we cry with each other when things are hopeless. All of the loving you do with each other, that is what we do. And for that, we are called misfits, deviants and criminals. What right do you have to punish us? What right do you have to change us? What makes you think you can dictate how people love each other?"

The above speech was directed at a judge and peers at Zorin's trial - her trial for the crime of being different. Is this not also what we are saying but, unfortunately, not to anyone that would make a difference? I know I say this time and time again but still nothing changes. Are we going to wait util evolution or, worse, atrophy set in and direct our destiny? Perhaps the answer to Zorin's statement will be the answer she received at the trial. The following is an excerpt:

"Zorin, your decision to admit your perversion makes it much more likely we can help you." At this point Zorin is condemned to go through Psycho Technic Treatment to become a "normal citizen." The judge goes on and tells Riker and those around that "We are concerned about our citizens. We take our obligation to them seriously. Zorin is sick and sick people want to get well."

Riker makes a plea for the fact Zorin may not want to be helped and how he could take her away and give her asylum aboard the Enterprise.

The judge continues, "We have a very high success rate with deviant people like this (Zorin) and, without exception, they become happier people after treatment, grateful we care enough to treat them. On this world everyone wants to be normal."

I don't know what triggered the writer to write the story of the Janei. Perhaps they are or know the plight of the transvestite, transgendered, transsexual or gay communities and were appalled to see or hear about the treatment of these special classes of people. Though born in a free country, we all are scorned, discriminated against, teased, dehumanized and consider second class citizens. I am glad that, periodically, someone in an influential position uses their position to bring to light the fact people have an unalienable right to chose their gender identity and, if the body doesn't fit the psyche, sexual reassignment surgery.

I shudder at the thought a procedure, "a cure" could be forced upon a person so that they would "fit in," blend with the crowd and be happier because they have no choice. Is it possible that something like this could happen? All you have to do is find a German Jew over the age of 50 and they will give you the answer!

I love who I am. I love my sisters and I pray we can all live with our heads high, in dignity and peace.

Love, Deb

[Last Laugh]

Alpha Omega is a non-profit social support group for heterosexual crossdressers and their wives or partners. Also, members from related organizations, helping professionals, and approved guests are welcome when cleared through Alpha Omega’s officers. We serve Cleveland and nearby Northeast Ohio communities.

Meetings are the second Saturday evening of each month unless a special event is scheduled that takes the place of the regularly scheduled meeting. The location of the meeting or event is only released to members or others with the approval of an officer. Members and visitors must be 18 years of age or older.

This newsletter is copyright 2007 by The Alpha Omega Society. All rights reserved. Articles and information contained in this newsletter may be reprinted by other non-profit crossdresser organizations with advance permission of the author and provided a copy of the issue containing the reprinted material is sent to Alpha Omega within two months after the material is published and proper credit is given to author and source. The opinions or statements contained in this newsletter are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of Alpha Omega.

Contributions of articles are welcomed, but may be altered in the editing process, with the author’s intent retained, or may be rejected, whether solicited or not. Absolutely no sexually explicit material will be accepted or printed.

We will exchange newsletters with any other similar group. Send all correspondence to: Newsletter Editor

Want to know when the latest newsletter is available? Ask
to be included on our confidential newsletter mailing list.

Like the content? Want to see something different?

Send your newsletter comments to: Newsletter Editor