(Amy taps the mic) Hello? Is this thing on?
It's been some time since I've managed to post here...but I've been keeping myself busy!
First is a somewhat non-obvious change...I've been letting a bit more of Amy "bleed over" into my male life. I've given up male underwear entirely, wearing only panties now. I also usually wear ladies' "trouser socks" instead of the thigh-highs and regular socks I was wearing; they're less cumbersome and work well. I've even started wearing ladies' polo shirts to work...they're solid colors, and the only way anyone could tell is if they looked closely at the direction the buttons are facing. (I bought "tunic length" tops; they work better than "regular" ladies' polo shirts for me.) Eventually, I may replace my regular shoes with ladies' oxfords or something like that.
Second, I've finally been able to share the photos that I had taken as part of a photoshoot for a "coffee table" book...I held off mostly so that a well-known transwoman blogger could show them to the world first. Go here for more details.
And now the biggest announcement: I am a candidate for the title of "Miss Majestic Hearts of All Colorado," the title to be awarded at the annual Majestic Hearts Pageant on May 9!
Yes, I've finally become a "drag performer" of sorts, at the encouragement of my friend Phyllis (the owner of Majestic Hearts). I've even performed at one Majestic Hearts event thusfar, where so few performers showed up, I was pressed into service for two numbers despite not having a real costume. But I'm certainly not a typical drag performer, being a transwoman rather than the most common type, a gay man dressing as a woman for performance reasons. But that's OK; Phyllis herself is a performer, despite being a heterosexual ciswoman, and one of my other fellow performers (and dear friends) is a lesbian ciswoman. I'm also atypical in my selection of performance music: symphonic metal. My first two performances were to "Amaranth" by Nightwish and "Our Solemn Hour" by Within Temptation. Among other things, this helps "unify" the halves of my soul, as my love of symphonic metal started on my male side.
I have adopted a "performance name" as well..."Amelia Storm." "Amelia" because it's fancier than my "true" female name "Amy," and yet can still be abbreviated to "Amy" where needed. "Storm" alludes to the powerful symphonic metal I use in my performances. It's written like this:
name-logo-600.jpg
The font is similar to that used on Nightwish's albums. The logo is my own inspiration, created one evening when doodling with Inkscape.
I've been assembling my costumes for the pageant itself...for "theme wear" (going with the theme "Music of the 60's, 70's and 80's"), I'm going to be a flower child, in tie-dye, sandals, beads, peace sign, leather braided headband, and pink John Lennon glasses, carrying daisies (and with one in my hair). For the "evening wear" competition, I'm using the pink gown I bought as part of my "fairy princess" costume. And, for my talent performance, doing "Amaranth"...I found a black leather dress on clearance, and built an outfit around it.
I'll definitely send more updates later...especially if the evening of May 9 concludes with the crown being set atop my head!
- Amy