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For Complete Boybutante Schedule
see page 8.
In honor of The Bcybutsnle Ball, Flagpole Fashion Doyenne m\ ?uihu\ Beveals What Every Man Should Know About Dressing Ip
hat is it about a man in a dress that's so
funny? It's been an accepted part of humor
internationally since the Greeks at least,
and probably since some caveman draped
himself in his mate's saber-toothed tiger-skin and minced
around the cave to gales of laughter It's all about sex. of
course — that's a perennial interest-point for the species
— and yet at the same time it’s not about sex at all A
man in a dress isn't just nellie. he’s hilarious, and some
times the broader the shoulder and more shadowy the
chin, the funnier it is.
A woman in pants produces nothing like the same
effect. A woman in pants is ho-hum. you see it every day
at the mall (if you're unfortunate enough to be at the mall
every day). Some Sarah in slacks — so what. But Ralph in
a kimono 0 Now you’re on to something
Perhaps it wasn’t always thus. George Sand, for exam
ple. a female author who adopted a male nom de plume,
earned quite a bit of attention in early 19th-century Paris
by sporting a frock-coat, trousers and boots. (Everybody
be sure to see Judy Davis as Sand opposite Hugh Grant as
Chopin in Impntmptu — a fabulous film, and not just for
the costumes.) But nowadays, maybe because “women's
liberation" has brought the female sex so many choices
of lifestyle as well as attire, a woman in pants is just a
woman in pants.
But a man in a dress... Maybe it’s because in the pre
dominant culture men still have vastly fewer choices that
their selection of feminine attire is so much more bold
and amusing. It takes a man farther afield, out of a much
more narrowly constricted social role when he dons
pumps and heels. Maybe it’s contract, the incongruous
being often the root of humor. Whatever it is. it’s funny
and it's fun. and great on a date. If you'd like to give it a
try — and what better time than the Boybutante Ball 0 —
here are a few pointers
FfOQK SELECTION
You're going to be restricted to the larger sizes, of
course. Don't try to hide your figure: show it tiff! (All the
girls you know will envy your slim hips.) You'll probably
be going in for an after-five look, since 99 percent of
cross-dressing happens after dark, and that's happy hunt
ing ground in the thrift shops. So hit a junk store, prefer
ably with a female friend Believe me, she'll tell you what
looks good and what doesn’t. There’s usually plenty of
choice in the larger sizes. Try to imagine the women who
bought these things new — you know they’ll look better
on you.
Knits offer wonderful possibilities, and something
with a little shine to it works well. There was a floor-
length. bronze glitter knit turtleneck at Go! Clothing last
time I visited that was just crying out to be dragged.
Don't skimp, but resist the temptation to be too trashy.
Think about separates — skirts and tops — and experi
ment with scarves at the neckline. Animal prints are
nearly always flattering. That's why society matrons
wear them. too.
There’s an (under)world of possibilities in the lingerie
department. You can stuff yourself like a Thanksgiving
turkey if you want to. Stockings make great stuffers: I
mean panty-hose just wadded into the appropriate com
partments of a 40-D brassiere. Pillows can be put to cre
ative use for a more big-mama look. I remember one
friend, a mere slip of a boy. who hung one pillow around
his neck in front and another around his waist, in back
With a little bit of extra string for rigging and strategic
tucks here and there, plus a motherly dress and apron,
he stole the show
Don't get your feelings hurt, but your legs probably
aren't your best feature. The masculine limb simply isn't
shaped the same way as the feminine number, and there
seems to be more bow-legged ness among the male of the
species. Light-colored hose will make legs look bigger,
while dark is slimming. If you’re really hardcore you can
shave them, but you’ll be miserable for weeks while it
grows out. To minimize that Eastern Bloc look, try wear
ing two pairs of pantyhose simultaneously. Queen-size, of
course.
SHOES AND HANDBAGS
Any woman can tell you that the shoes are the most
important component of any outfit. In this department,
the size problem is significant, and you probably won’t be
able to choose from a wide selection. But they'll make
your look, trust me. High heels are of course to be
desired above all. Don’t obsess over matching your
clothes. A thicker, lower heel is more stable than a high,
narrow one, but also less fetching. Be prepared to be
unsteady, and walk more slowly than usual. A little prac
tice is advised. (I’ve never seen a drag queen in wedgies,
now that I think alxiut it. Those don’t look good on any
body.)
The bag does not have to match the shoes, but you
L\L IE /X U E L=
— L
The challenge posed by the good news about AIDS
Not too long ago, an HIV-positive woman
was waiting for her appointment in the lobby of
the AIDS Coalition of Northeast Georgia. Pat
Allen, the coalition's project administrator,
recalls that while she waited, she read the
recent Ebony Magazine article in which Magic
Johnson's wife Cookie proclaims that the Lord
healed the basketball star.
The woman approached case worker Mary
OToole and said, "God has cured Magic Johnson.
Why hasn't he cured me?"
Though God may have had something to do
with it. it is the complicated cocktail of drugs
known as protease inhibitors that has, in a more
direct sense, given hope to Magic Johnson and
HIV-positive men and women in Athens and
around the world. Since being introduced in
clinical trials in the mid-'90s (and formally
approved by the FDA in 1997), they have
allowed many infected people to manage the
disease. Though not a cure, the regimen is
indeed a life-prolonging miracle. But for AIDS
activists, it poses new challenges.
As news spreads of th* drug cocktail's suc
cess, Allen says, people assume that the prob
lem is under control. This makes it harder to
raise money for AIDS-related causes. The AIDS
Coalition's last major fund-drive, which took
place this winter, was not as successful as orga
nizers would have liked. The catch, Allen
explains, is that groups like the AIDS coalition
"need money now more than ever." He says drug
cocktail treatments can cost between S12.000
and $20,000 per year.
'Ten years ago, we didn’t have to spend
money on drugs, because there were no drugs,"
Allen says.
The AIDS Coalition currently serves 102 HIV
positive Georgians from Clarke and nine other
nearby counties with just two part-time case
workers. Twelve of those patients came to them
in 1998. Allen says the clients are a mixed bag
as far as race and sexual orientation go, though
he notes that the majority do not have private
health insurance. One of the coalition's major
goals is to find public monies to fund drug cock
tail programs for these clients. Often, the coali
tion itself funds the cost cf the drugs as a stop
gap measure until a more solid source of fund
ing can be found.
AIDS is no stranger to Northeast Georgia:
155 people have died of AIDS in the 10-county
region since 1983, according to the Georgia
Department of Health. Still the AIDS Coalition
also has to deal with the ongoing stigma
attached to the disease, which stymies attempts
to get the message out. Such pressures, Allen
says, mean that no HIV-positive person would
volunteer to speak at this year's human right's
festival, and no HIV-positive person would be
willing to be interviewed for this article.
In this regard, being the main recipient of
funds from an unabashed expression of gay cul
ture like the Boybutante Ball is "kind of tricky,"
Allen says. “We do want to appear mainstream,
but gay people are still getting the disease,"
Allen says. "We still proudly relate to the gay-
community, but we want to reach out to every
one."
Boybutante organizers say that since about
1994, protesters from the Chnstian Right have
been a mainstay outside of the event. Gene
LaValley, Pastor of Victory Chapel on Baxter
Street, says his group always gathers to preach
that "Jesus is the answer" — and that homo
sexuality is a sin — wherever crowds gather,
including the Boybutante. "In the eight years
I've beer, [in Athens], I think I've been down
[to Boybutante] twice," LaValley says. "At that
point wc did preach and hand out flyers. But it's
more spontaneous than any organized event."
Says Allen: "Those people who pretest. I
hope their prayers go out to people with HIV as
well as for people not to yo to Boybutante."
Richard Fausset
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□ FLAGPOLE MAY 27, 1998