"Womanless" pageants/Pep rallies

[RitaJanelle1964]

From time to time on YouTube, I see videos of "Womanless" beauty pageants done at schools, churches, etc., featuring boys/men of varying ages (some as young as junior high school) dressing as girls/women (with varying degrees of comportment and/or fashion sense). I also remember back in school when the jocks would dress as cheerleaders for pep rallies and such. Anyone ever been in one of these situations or been en femme in front of a large group of people like that? If so, how did your friends/family react? Were you "outed" by doing so? Peer pressure being what it is, I would've been too scared to do something like that in school, even as much as I love dressing en femme. I admire any one who had/has the guts to do so...

[Angela Campbell]

Sad thing is most of these are designed to make fun of us.

[Leslie Langford]

I agree. These "Woman-less Pageants" are an abomination and are typically over-the-top campy, with not the remotest attempt made by the male contestants to look even halfway feminine. But that's what society has conditioned homophobic macho-type guys to do in case anyone - God forbid!" - even slightly suspects that the dress or gown wearer might be enjoying the experience. That would be so gay! Watching these types of pageants on youtube is a total waste of time IMHO and just gets my blood pressure to rise.

A far more enjoyable experience is watching the various "Miss Gay (Whatever) beauty contests specifically geared towards transgenders, transsexuals, "ladyboys" and "new-halfs" etc. - and especially those emanating out of Thailand where there is a strong culture of accepting gender-variant people.

Just type the appropriate key words into youtube's search engine, and you will be amazed at just how many of those videos are out there!

[BLUE ORCHID]

Hi Rita, If we got dressed for something like that they would know that we had way too much pratice.

[Angela Campbell]

Although I I had the chance to do that when in school I would have loved it...

[Rikidee]

I have been in one of these events and they are really what you make them. I represented my company in a pageant put on for the American Cancer Society. No one knows about this side of me so some of them did think I had too much practice. Anyway I went shopping for that "special" dress (great excuse to shop I might add). It forced me to come out to a family member who I knew would keep my secret because being single I had to say someone helped with my makeup LOL! My only intention was to look as good as I could. I was nervous when I arrived, lots of folks I have known all my life and lots of people I work with. There were about 3 other contestants and they all looked good also. Many of the people I work with did not even recognize me and some of them just could not believe it was me. The contestants went up on stage and were interviewed. Then we were sent down into the crowd for about 30 minutes to collect donations. This was a great opportunity to interact with folks in stealth mode because no one knew how much I was enjoying myself. I collected the most money and was awarded a sash, a bouquet of roses (talk about a femme moment) and a tiara. I was reluctant to go home and get in drab so I hung out with my peeps for maybe an hour soaking up the compliments and the comments made in fun but they didn't bother me. This was a few years ago and every now and then a picture will surface, a few comments will be made and then they will disappear, but what are people going to say I am a cancer survivor and was making money for one of my favorite charities. All in all it was a great experience, I gained a lot of confidence and there is nothing like being dressed around people you have known a long time even if they don't know how deep your feelings run. I am thinking about doing another one in a few weeks but this will be in my adopted hometown not where I really live. I am looking forward to a great time. Hugs Riki

[STACY B]

Tell ya the Truth ,,I have been to Hundreds of those thing's ,,When I was in School they called it Possum Queen Contest ,, Then in high school like ya said the Football team dressed like cheerleaders ,,, Then they have what they call Woman-Less Weddings an Woman-less Beauty Contest ,, All around Marti Gras for the Chairity ,,An I don't think I have EVER seen a GUY that was CD ,,, If I did he sure didn't look like it ,,, Mostly Drunks an as soon as it was over they would take it all off ,,If that was us you would have to peal it off us ,,,But that Super Man complex won't let us do it ,,LOL,,, Might get OUTED ? Maybe now I would ,,,An just go in my regular clothes ,,, What contest ? Ohhhhhh WELL ,,,,, I was dressed for the Party ,,,,, LOL,,,,,,

[MissTee]

Hi Rita, If we got dressed for something like that they would know that we had way too much pratice.

:iagree::iagree: That would be my concern.

[May(be)]

I took part in SEVERAL "dude looks like a lady" contests in college. I kept the clothes on a little too long after the contests were over and people started raising eyebrows. The thing is, I WON THE CONTESTS and was ridiculously proud of my presentation. I was swimming in the chance to perform gender in front of these people, most of which knew me decently well. What a fantastic excuse!

I have the pictures still up on my facebook. My far-too-conservative aunt saw the pictures one day and called my mom in a tizzy... "Do you know what your SON is doing at college!?" she queried. My mom knew all about my glorious victory. I talked about it at length over Thanksgiving dinner. My aunt is such a prude!!

[RitaJanelle1964]

Hi Rita, If we got dressed for something like that they would know that we had way too much pratice.

Precisely what I was thinking too. I saw one contestant on YouTube in a junior high gym who had no trouble at all getting around in 3" heels (on a basketball court, no less). I, too, would have been walking far too well in heels to seem like a novice at it...

[Beverley Sims]

I was never outed doing these things, it is how you present yourself and interact with others that makes it all work in your favor.

[chelle]

Our little country school has a womanless style show every year. One year they asked me to be one of the judges. I was amazed how girly most of them looked and they did not dress to be anything but trying to be the girl. Some of them were unbelievably cute. I think each one was paired with a HS girl who helped them. Hope to see the show again this year.
Chelle

[michellecd9999]

Oh Gosh, I had the chance when I was a teen, but was toooo scared to do it.
See my Missed Opportunities thread at
http://www.crossdressers.com/forums/showthread.php?180558-Missed-Opportunities&p=2951646&highlight=#post2951646

[joank]

There is one pagent in Atlanta that is top notch. No parities alowed. I think it is for AIDS.

[VeronicaMoonlit]

I have mixed feelings about these pageants. It bothers me that it's a "southern thing", that the least tolerant section of the country has the most of these pageants. I think it's passive aggressive, somewhat misogynistic, and I think that they do it to make fun of us to a certain extent, and provide an "approved" outlet for closeted GLBT folk to participate...as long as they stay quiet and don't complain or be open otherwise.

I also think it's a way for upper middle-class southern women, who might get frustrated at the slightly patriarchal culture down there that still insists on traditional femininity in some ways, to take out those frustrations on their sons in an approved manner. In other words "I have to be all girly to fit in with the other ladies at the magnolia club so I'm going to give my son a taste of what I have to put up with in this pageant, and no one will say a damn thing because it's for a charity"

Veronica

[dallasmann]

I have mixed feelings about these pageants. It bothers me that it's a "southern thing", that the least tolerant section of the country has the most of these pageants. I think it's passive aggressive, somewhat misogynistic, and I think that they do it to make fun of us to a certain extent, and provide an "approved" outlet for closeted GLBT folk to participate...as long as they stay quiet and don't complain or be open otherwise.

I also think it's a way for upper middle-class southern women, who might get frustrated at the slightly patriarchal culture down there that still insists on traditional femininity in some ways, to take out those frustrations on their sons in an approved manner. In other words "I have to be all girly to fit in with the other ladies at the magnolia club so I'm going to give my son a taste of what I have to put up with in this pageant, and no one will say a damn thing because it's for a charity"

You really think those things? Weird.

Some guys do it just for fun and try to make themselves look as outrageous as possible, like a big black guy with a bear and a blonde Marilyn Monroe wig. He's looking for laughs. Other guys, though, will take it VERY seriously and try to look as feminine as possible and will have a girl or girlfriend helping out who wants her guy to look the hottest. Other people will be somewhere in between.

'REAL' CDs - regardless of where one is on the spectrum - do not have complete and total ownership of crossdressing. If non-CDs want to do it as a one-off for their own purposes, let them. They might find that they like it.

[Karren H]

The high school athletic club had an initiation where you you had to dress as a girl for a school day... every year I watched the new girls parade around legally at school... a couple of them you could tell that they looked amazing and I always thought that they had done that before... well I finally became eligible to join and they abolished the ritual! :(:(:(

[pippinfort]

I have to admit im an infrequent user but that is down to environment more than my need!

[STACY B]

The high school athletic club had an initiation where you you had to dress as a girl for a school day... every year I watched the new girls parade around legally at school... a couple of them you could tell that they looked amazing and I always thought that they had done that before... well I finally became eligible to join and they abolished the ritual! :(:(:(




Just like me,,,, Ship Finaly comes in an I am at the Bus station !!!!!!!!! :D

[Amy Milnet]

There was nothing like that when I was in school!

[RitaJanelle1964]

There was nothing like that when I was in school!

You're right, Amy--this seems to be a fairly new phenomenon over the last decade or so. If anything, I take it as a sign of progress--there's no way you could've gotten guys at my high school in the late '70s/early '80s to wear a dress, hose, heels and a wig and get up in front of the school and parade around. And while it's true that some of these events poke fun at the TG community, most of them are done for charity, so it can't be all bad...

[Josie M]

Hi Rita, If we got dressed for something like that they would know that we had way too much pratice.

Yea, we'd have to make a decision to either "sand-bag" or just go for it :)


I did a "drag" fund-raiser once (before I'd acknowledged myself as TG)....yes, it was campy and silly, but I had a lot of fun with it and maybe it was a safe way to "test the waters"

[darylinb]

I've seen postings for several of the LGBT social pageants around the US but I haven't had the opportunity to attend any of them. There's one in the Southeast "Southern Nights" or something like that, that is huge I've heard. It would be fun to attend and just network with other "ladies".

[demibra]

When I was in the ninth grade of high school, I was asked to be in a Womanless Wedding to play the part of a fashion model. My mind was spinning because I had become “fond” of women’s things since about the age 9 when I discovered my mother’s lingerie. That night. I mentioned the show to my mother in passing and you would have thought she hit the lottery. Immediately, she started making plans for what I should wear and look like. She would have to find a wig and heels for me. She said had a cocktail dress that would be perfect, and etc. It was three weeks before the show and it seemed like every single moment she was discussing how she was going to make me a convincing girl.

On the day of the show, Mother had made me a beauty appointment at her saloon where I had a manicure, nails painted, eyebrow trim, and my shoulder length wig styled. Later at home mother encouraged me to take a bubble bath and shave my legs and underarms. She had laid out a complete ensemble from matching bra and panties, girdle, nylons, half slip, to a chiffon knee length cocktail dress with empire waistline (my all time fav dress). I put on the panties bra girdle and slip and sat at her vanity where she applied my makeup and wig. Then I stepped into the dress and she zipped it up in the back. When I put on my heels and jewelry, I heard my mother make an audible cooing sound. She adored what she saw and when I looked into the mirror, I could not believe my eyes. On the way out the door, mom wanted dad to see. He just smirked and shook his head.

The show was a success and I was a star. However, while I don’t think there is such a thing as a border line crossdresser, this experience was a defining moment in my recognition of what dressing enfemme meant to me.

[Allison Chaynes]

I never would have done one in high school but the only time I have been out in public I was at a Relay for Life event. Some of my wife's friends were there and one of them figured out I liked it and looked too comfortable. I told everyone I lost a bet with her and had to do it for her company and had a few drinks beforehand (I didn't). I did kind of enjoy myself though.

[Tara D. Rose]

Sad thing is most of these are designed to make fun of us.


This is so true. I remember back in my day, we had these "so called" jocks, like they were they were the killers of women, yeah right.yes, I know the types, the ones that wore the size 40 coat and a size 2 hat. They would don some skirt or a dress borrowed from their mother or aunt and rallied all together on a football night. So it still goes on today. So they are cd's some may think???? Those types are an extreme insult to who I am and probably to many others on here.

And to the other fund raising events where these guys slap on a dress and a Goldilocks $2.00 wig and prance around in front of crowds for laughter and to poke fun of cd's, is despicable and deplorable. These woman-less pageants are a display of mockery of cross dressers and a deliberate act to poke fun at cross dressers and have the crowds laugh at us.

We are a serious group, and these circus shows that we all have seen is a slap in the face of cross dressing. We see the super bowl commercials depicting us as the sick side of society. I know we have a long way to go.

[bimini1]

Extremely interesting dynamic surrounding these pageants and the fact that they occur in the south and many times in the most transphobic of all places....churches.

If you go to a site called femulate you will see thousands of photos from these and lots of times the presentations actually look pretty good. Authentic as opposed to campy.

[Dawn Andrews]

Just to put another slant on things, over here in the UK it is Pantomine season where the local and some big city theatres put on productions such as Snow White, Cinderella and Aladdin etc. All of these feature 'The Dame', an over-the-top character in drag, often played by a well known celebrity.
When I was in Primary School, aged 9, I was an 'ugly sister' in Cinderella - I had to use the teachers clothing and was made up a bit vampish is the best way to describe my character. Anyway, at that age, not sure if it was the beginnings of Dawn as it was all innocent entertainment for parents and classmates. But no too long after that I remember starting to read stories in the Sunday newspapers and taking an interest in Mum's clothes.
And now 40 years on . . . . the story continues . . .
Dawn x

[LadyPilot]

Darn, I wish my school offered such things maybe I would have been a completely different student. I would have been a jock if it meant a chance of getting into the head cheerleaders uniform!!!!!

[AlyssaS]

I got to be a cheerleader in 8th grade for a pep rally, and then the soccer team in high school traded uniforms with field hockey for halloween, but nothing like that since.