This past Halloween, as part of an inside joke, I planned to go as Katy Perry. I bought a cheap blue wig from Wal-Mart and dug out a tight tank top and a short skirt. The night of, I put on said tank top and skirt and looked in the mirror. What I saw looking back did not appeal to me what-so-ever. I was horrified at the prospect of baring so much pasty-white skin. So I did what any logical person would do when faced with the same situation: I organized a trade.
Some bargaining and begging later, I was the pope and my partner was donning my Katy Perry finest. We decided that if he was going to do this, he was going to do it right. So we got out the shaving cream and razors, and sat him down on the edge of the bathtub for the Big Shave. I didn't take it all, but I took most of it. By the end we were both exhausted and irate, but that was only the beginning of the journey. I do not exaggerate when I say that it took no less than two hours to complete the transformation.
It was hard work, but well worth it. My partner looks fucking fabulous in a skirt.
this is great. haha.
ReplyDeleteOh wow. Even better than the costume is the fact that I know the person wearing it - I had no idea he did that! Nicely done.
ReplyDeletethose are mad slinky skillz!
ReplyDeleteCute story, and I love the pictures.
ReplyDeleteYou said that he had to do it right if he was going to do this at all... Did doing it "right" lead to any surprising epiphanies for either of you? What do you think your partner might say about Darrin's comment that drag is the "most feminist thing a man can do?"
I wouldn't say that "doing it right" led to any meaningful epiphanies for me. Shaving was by far the most difficult part. It was extremely time consuming and difficult, and what I had originally thought was going to be fun (makeover!), really really really was not. At all.
ReplyDeleteActually, I change my mind. Looking back I feel a sense of appreciation for what drag queens have to go through to create the ultra-femm ideal. I would say that the “repressive techniques” (invented by men, preformed by women) like the shaving, full makeup, hair ect. Are far more difficult for men to preform, than women. Just attempting to shave a face down close enough to look smooth is a task itself. Granted, drag queens have discovered ways around some of these (four layers of pantyhose?!). I regret not thinking of that myself because it was like sleeping with a cactus for at least a month afterward.
As for your second question, my partner read that particular chapter and said he would be happy to respond to it himself when he gets a chance.
I can imagine that it would be a lot of work, though I don't think I fully understand the extent that drag queens go to in order to achieve "the ultra-femme ideal." I think it's nifty that you have more of an understanding of the process and of the creativity involved in creating successful drag from an experience like that.
ReplyDeleteI would love to hear what he might have to say =)
Re: "What do you think your partner might say about Darrin's comment that drag is the "most feminist thing a man can do?"
ReplyDeleteWhile I definitely consider myself a feminist (I think every person needs a room of one's own), I do not look at my particular amateur's night as a feminist endeavor. I guess I was still protected by male privilege, because I still acted like myself (besides a few rousing renditions of Hot n' Cold). As I have never felt that much pressure to be stereotypically "masculine," I did not find the experience particularly enlightening, besides a deeper respect for the discipline in disciplinary practices like make-up and shaving. Whenever I have had the occasion to play a woman in dress or manner, I think the word "play" really sums up my non-serious attitude towards it: I have never really thought about the implications of the act.
The first time I encountered drag was Halloween at my junior high school. We kept wondering who that strange woman was who was prowling the halls, until s/he said, "Hey Peter," and I realized it was my male drama teacher. Again, I never really considered the implications of drag until Katie (not Perry) read excerpts of Darrin's book and put them in context with feminism. I learn so much every day.
In short, I think that the most feminist thing a person can do is to look beyond traditional gender dichotomies in dress, thought, and actions, and be themselves. To me, feminism is about the freedom from gender restriction as a basis for judgment or action. As such, I have personally found wearing a skirt as myself to be much more empowering and feminist, because it says I don't give a whiffle about what I should be wearing or how someone might read me; I just love feeling the wind when I run.