Seriously now.....

[Kate Simmons]

I for one am a bit tired of dodging all the flack and bullets lately with all these controversial threads :whew!:. We need to lighten up a little. I've always seen the whole scenerio of a guy crossdressing as possible fodder for a great situation comedy.I don't take myself that seriously anyway and see the humor and incongruity in it. I was wondering if anyone had any real life humouous experiences or could think of some ideas for such a show. The premise would be that the guy is in the closet, married, doesn't want anyone to find out but likes to go out anyway. Lemme see what you've got.:happy:

[Jennaie]

A great idea, I'm not a screen writer but I do think the actor who played the husband on King of Queens would be perfect for the part, not to mention that the woman who played his wife would be perfect as his wife as well.

[Fab Karen]

There was once a sitcom somewhat in that vein, starring a little-known actor named Tom Hanks. ( "Bosom Buddies" -two straight guys crossdress in order to live in a lower rent "women's only" building )

[Angie G]

There would have to be kids inthe famile :hugs:
Angie

[Linda C]

There was once a sitcom somewhat in that vein, starring a little-known actor named Tom Hanks. ( "Bosom Buddies" -two straight guys crossdress in order to live in a lower rent "women's only" building )

You said Bosom! He He - He... :devil:

[Stargirl]

I would make him the mayor of a small town. He would be the dentist, undertaker, psychiatrist, veterinarian, and lawman/woman. Oh the possibilities for outfits !!! And, of course, the proverbial hat rack on the wall behind her/his desk. The best episode : when the townspeople refuse to have him sent to a nut house by the federal government. (this could be set in the old west). EVERYONE shows up crossdressed, and they demand to be arrested along with him. I can hear the whinny of horses, and guitar music now.
Call it Boot Hill.

[deja true]

Oh yeah Sal! but what with all the issues like we run across, it's gonna have to be one of those semi-sweet situation comedies ( maybe like that long running show with Debra Messing and the gay guys) so our main character remains sympathetic rather than a clown tranny like Klnger in M.A.S.H or Hanks and that other guy in Bosom Buddies. (That show sucked, by the way!)

A more obvious screenplay that could go on indefinitely could be based on "Priscilla..." or
even "ToWong Foo...". What's better than a continuous road trip with a different story line in hundreds of new locales? Worked for Route 66.

Think I better copyright this right now!

deja

[Jennaie]

Oh yeah Sal! but what with all the issues like we run across, it's gonna have to be one of those semi-sweet situation comedies ( maybe like that long running show with Debra Messing and the gay guys) so our main character remains sympathetic rather than a clown tranny like Klnger in M.A.S.H or Hanks and that other guy in Bosom Buddies. (That show sucked, by the way!)

A more obvious screenplay that could go on indefinitely could be based on "Priscilla..." or
even "ToWong Foo...". What's better than a continuous road trip with a different story line in hundreds of new locales? Worked for Route 66.

Think I better copyright this right now!

deja

Tuwong fu, nah, that's ts, not cd. I think a cd would be a much better comedy.

[docrobbysherry]

But, for CD comedy, I would like to see something along the lines of the original " Producers" movie by Mell Brooks.

Gene Wilder and Zero Mostel r led to a meeting with the director, ( Roger Debree, as I recall), by his butler. An affected acting, oddly dressed fellow. They enter a room, and Roger is wearing an incredible gown with makeup, but no wig. He looked like a man in a dress. When he put the wig on later in the scene, I remember thinking how much he suddenly looked like a woman!

I believe the twists and turns of a CD's life, showing him change from manly man, to fem cutie, could make for a very entertaining movie.
RS

[Dalece]

I don't know of anything only those mentioned, The only famous CD I know and sorry has to do with comedy is Lady Edna, And she is my idol I want to try myself to get into comedy stand up. As a male I can't But as a woman I feel more confident Strange. I guess I hide behind my skirt. But what I read so far is good ideas.

[Kate Simmons]

I like the semi-sweet idea Deja came up with. The show would not only show the humor in the situation but be kind of informative as well. It would give exposure to the issues in a non threatening way so as to educate the public and be somewhat serious and realistic at the same time. I know we are just talking here but it gets our feelings out.:happy:

[UASIANGAL]

I almost thought about quitting this forum when I read one the recent discussion that was flaming everyone and I thought, there's a comedy right there!

Oh seriously not, I picked up an old DVD of Woody Allen's called Everything You Wanted to Know About Sex, But Were Afraid to Ask, and there is a hilarious chapter on Crossdressing. it is so embarrassing funny.

[yms]

I for one am a bit tired of dodging all the flack and bullets lately with all these controversial threads :whew!:. We need to lighten up a little. I've always seen the whole scenerio of a guy crossdressing as possible fodder for a great situation comedy.I don't take myself that seriously anyway and see the humor and incongruity in it. I was wondering if anyone had any real life humouous experiences or could think of some ideas for such a show. The premise would be that the guy is in the closet, married, doesn't want anyone to find out but likes to go out anyway. Lemme see what you've got.:happy:

Salandra -

I have always enjoyed your posts and found them very enlightening, but I think that part of the reason crossdressers are relegated to living their lives in virtual realities like this forum is because crossdressing is pretty much always ever depicted as a huge joke or a pathetic pathology.

The "sit-com" you describe is real-life for many people, and not funny. I suppose my question is: when does crossdressing get taken seriously?

I appreciate that you are trying to get the discussion back to a less controversial tone. SUrely it is possible to have a serious discussion of crossdressing without a flame war!

Regards
Yvonne

[Angela Burke]

I suppose Dame Edna Everage is a sort of one man/woman sitcome in that she has a raft of characters she constantly refers to most of whom we never see.
I think Barrie Humphries could easily do a sitcom, (has he done one already?).
But then again he doesn't really need any co-stars, all he needs is his brilliant wit and the Dame Edna personna to get away with absolute murder towards his terrified guests!

[deja true]

Exactly, Yvonne! We're trying to brainstorm here on ways to get a positive image of Crossdressers into mainstream media. The negative image, as you say of either freaks or murderers/victims is not doing us any good. But it just occurred to me that there already are a couple (sort of). I hear that the daytime soap, Alll My Children) has had a TS character on for the past several months that's actually played by a man (sort of of a reallife Tootsie thing). Whether the character is a good image or not I don't know, I'm working during the day and can't be bothered to record. Also, the series Ugly Betty has a character who is a post op MTF, played by a real woman ( forget who but she is tall and very good looking: a model I think). Seen this one afew times and the character started out as a real conniving bitch, but I think she's mellowed and become a better person recently.(She works at a fashion magazine surrounded by hot models every minute, the lucky girl.)

They're not CD's, but media-wise, it's a start; admittedly putting the most sensational aspect of our broad gender-crossing topic in front of the mass audience in a somewhat serious and sympathetic manner. It's acculturating slowly the mass of tv watchers with the subject on a large scale. It's a start. You know that in the background are the writers and producers and others who are pushing these more friendly agendas and they wouldn't be doing that if there weren't CD's or TS's or admirers among them.

So what Salandra and I are talking about will, to my mind, actually happen pretty soon. I'd be willing to bet that within the next 3 to 5 years there will be a mass audience (Network or cable) series that features a sympathetic CD or TS character, not just a clown or pathetic tranny. As much as I like to play the YouTube cuts of Springer, I'm sick of the negative stereotypes he presents for the most part. We need positive public images!

(The new LGB (T?) cable network LOGO will be featuring some T shows soon I read, but I'll never see them. No way I can subscribe to a gay network in my super small town!)

Sorry to have taken you light hearted thread to a little more serious place, Sal, but I think we can be serious and optimistic, too.

respect & love

deja

(Hey! Hollywood people (I know you're out there!), we're all due big consultancy fees for this brainstorming thread!)

[Kate Simmons]

Exactly my point Deja. There is always a method to my "madness." In suggesting something like this, I am in no way attempting to "water down" what crossdressing means to us, quite the opposite really. What I do see though, especially in a lot of threads here a lot of the angst and frustration that goes along doing what we do and being who we are and the dysphoria that sometimes goes along with it. We get absolutely no where if all we do is waffle and cry about it though, so this is a good chance to provide positive input even though something of this nature will probably not happen any time soon.

I do see it coming though. We are an undeniable fact of life and are not going away any time soon. In fact, the increasing membership of the Forum shows that others are finding the boldness to express themselves and their feelings. Pretending we do not exist is really not an option for society and it gets to be more so every day. Oh, there are set backs in the political arena all right but how do you really stop something that is positively moving forward? You can't, all you can do is delay it. We all have opportunities every day to be good ambassadors, this is merely just another idea towards that.:happy:

[deja true]

Sory to hog the inra-tubes, but it also just occurred to me that ther have been a few other positive TV topics on tv. I remember seeing part of an Oprah show whee she ineriewed the "My Husband Betty" author and Betty. They've been on other talk/interview shows, too.

These daytime shows most of us miss, but,guess what? Our wives and many other stay at home folks are watching them. And, I'd hope, that the positive and more or less sympathetic presentations may be positively affecting the female segment of the population.

Maybe this is the way that closeted CD's can try to work toward coming out to their SO's, by watching and referring to the non-judgemental opinions of well respected personalities like Oprah!

deja

(Mods! please don't move this thread to Media. I think it really needs the most widespread input. It's interesting as heck and I think can help in a big way!)

[Alisa]

They should have replaced Rosie's spot on the view with a CD'er instead of Whoppi. My be a CDing talkshow host would work to increase awareness but it would have to be well produced and good guests to have broad appeal.

I'd have to agree with others that a sitcom with a CDing character is probably not going to do much for the cause.

BTW Soap (sitcom from the 70's) featured Billy Crystal as an openly gay man who also CD'ed from time to time. I do not remember how CDing fit into the storyline?

Alisa

[darla_g]

I almost thought about quitting this forum when I read one the recent discussion that was flaming everyone and I thought, there's a comedy right there!


dont quit UASIANGAL i always enjoy your pics!

I so think there are more than a few people who need to lighten up a little. Unless you're transitioning which is real serious business and this is your life 24x7. For everyone else this is supposed to be fun and we really need to have the ability to poke fun at ourselves and what we are trying to achieve.

Lets face it if you're male you might not have the bone structure, facial features, height etc. that you must overcome if you are trying to create a female illusion. Some others may pass with ease. Thats why a place like this is terrific, share your experiences, share your honest but respectful opinions, pass on tips, & respect and support your sisters!

[Jilmac]

There was once a sitcom somewhat in that vein, starring a little-known actor named Tom Hanks. ( "Bosom Buddies" -two straight guys crossdress in order to live in a lower rent "women's only" building )

Salandra, I remember Bosom Buddies as being outrageously funny but my wife didn't like it because she knew of my dressing and thought it would trigger my desire to dress even more. I was only able to sneak in a few episodes when she wasn't in the same room. I'm quoting Fab Karen's reference to Buddies, but let's not forget the programs that featured crossdressing sidekicks like M*A*S*H where cpl. Klinger used cd'ing as a ploy to be discharged on a section 8. Also there was Drew Carey's brother on The Drew Carey Show. So crossdressing isn't new to sitcoms or to full length movies, (remember Tootsie and To Wong Foo?)

I would love to see a program where the main character was a crossdresser,but instead of a sitcom where the typical cd'er is portrayed as a buffoon, it should portray the seriousness of cd'ing in a marital relationship. A program like that might give credibility to all of us who enjoy dressing, and at the same time, help some of those closeted dressers and thier SO's understand us better. I realize that a program like that would be controversial, but it would also be the ultimate "reality" show. Perhaps some of us girls should get together and script a pilot. Wouldn't that be a kick if it was accepted?

Luv and:hugs: Jill

[Kate Simmons]

Sounds good Jill. All ideas welcome. The sitcom thingy was just an idea. Anything that portrayed the real facts about crossdressing would work though. The context would be to show that we are really regular people with a unique outlook on things.:happy:

[deja true]

Now that I'm thinking of it, I also remember seeing at least one maybe two different shows on Spanish language television, Univision, that have TV hostesses. Can't really tell if it's 1 or 2, 'cos i don't speak Spanish. (I watch the channel because ALL the women on it, from teens to grandmas (abuelas) are gorgeous. Every one. You think Fox and CNN have hot newsladies? Check out the gorgeous women who read the news and do the weather on Univision.(OMG, the weathergirl!)

Anyway, the lady I know is TV is a talk show co-host, not a character on a telenovela, not a joke character on one of the many comedias ( of which there are many).

It seems the Latins don't take their CD media characters as all jokes or killers. Maybe a Latina girl out there can tell us more.

deja

Oh, yeah, and on a hugely popular Saturday night variety show, there is quite often a Drag beauty contest, with talent, swimsuit and ballgown sections that seems extremely respectful and looks great. Most of Unvision's content is from Mexico or Miami, and I gotta say, there are great looking not-girls in Mexico! The middle class audience doesn't seem to mind and the show is fun and fast and entertaining.

(Last bit added later as an edit)

[Ruth]

This TV sitcom stuff is alright as a piece of blue sky thinking (as we used to say), but I would not like to see it happen in practice. Television tends to debase real life by making a drama out of everything, and writers feel they have to exaggerate characters so as to get a lot of incident on screen.
This is how we got the "clown" CDer Klinger in MASH.
What I think we CDers would like is not a life like a sitcom, but a peaceful and harmonious existence, where we could live out our femme lives in public without raising a ripple, the sort of thing that would make very dull television.

[Littlej10]

A good location/base scenario would be a hotel run by one/two CDs. or a married couple with a MtF CD. Lots of opportunity to introduce the whole range of characters and reactions in a mix of serious and humorus situations.

[Marla151]

I think it'd be funny if the husband was a MTF CD'er and the wife was a FTM CD'er and they were both hiding it from each other while dressing secretly whenever they could.

[Fab Karen]

Tuwong fu, nah, that's ts, not cd. I think a cd would be a much better comedy.
To Wong Foo... was about CD's. Priscilla had one character that was TS ( though that movie was about performance drag with crazy outfits ).