I'd originally planned on going to Club Shine at the Oxwood Inn up in The Valley. But, after talking with a gurl I'd met online about it, she persuaded me that T-Girl Saturday at Hamburger Mary's was "IT." So, I canceled my hotel reservation up in the Valley and made one at the Vagabond Inn down in Long Beach.
I pulled in to the bar at about 21:30 and things really didn't get hopping until about 22:00 or so. By 23:00 the place had filled up nicely and there were a whole bunch of "gurls" lining the back wall. It was fun to watch even as I was in full-up boy drag.
Jonie Vox, the gurl I met online, proved a great friend by introducing me around. First to her friends there with her, then to the organizer of T-girl Satrudays, Jamie Jameson, and then to Jill of Transglamtastic. That's the makeover service she runs for trans women and cross dressers like me.
Upon being introduced she ran her fingers over my mustache and goatee and told me that "this will have to go!"
I replied by asking her: "What, a bit of foundation won't cover it?" We both laughed at that and eventually agreed that the only way I could keep the facial hair is if she used not just Spackle to hide it but Bondo. And the upside of the Bondo would be her then being able to develop autobody repair work as a sideline business. So, yes, my 'stache and goat will be gone the next time I see her.
The rest of the crowd was interesting to watch. Among them were several other of Jill's clients - Jonie and Brenda amongst them - with the bulk of them being rather tall like me. Especially Sabrina. Sabrina had a nicely muscled physique with a very firm, rounded, muscular ass and great legs. She looked great in her purple minidress. I figured if she could look that good with her height and muscularity then so to could I.
I was also struck by where I was at and how things were once again playing out.
Back in the early 80s I was just getting in to the gay world. At that time, that world centered around bar life. That was really the only place and only way for large number of gay men to come together at one time in one place. And so, if I wanted to meet up with other gay men I'd have to go and hang out in gay bars and nightclubs on the weekends.
Gays back then were very much a persecuted minority and were just beginning their march toward the social acceptance they now have. Societal awareness of gays was pretty damn stereotypical and rudimentary. And you felt something of a kinship with any other gay man you met because of all that.
I'm getting something of the same vibe now with the cross dressing / tgirl community. This is very different from the drag community I've known of for decades now. The gurls at Hamburger Mary's would probably not consider themselves part of the "drag" community at all. Theirs is a different world and focus.
But there seems an affinity - up to a certain level - amongst guys who dress. They recognize each other as kindred spirits and there's support in that. I certainly felt that from the other gurls there at T-girl night. Especially once they learned that I wasn't just another guy in blue jeans there to leer at them but was intent on becoming like them.
There is a downside to this for me and that's its being a life centered in the bars. I'm not a bar or nightclub person. At Hamburger Mary's the music was loud and not entirely to my taste. The whole bar scene isn't to my taste, in general. Loud music doesn't lend itself to conversation and I prefer talking to people I'm interested in rather than yelling at them. One big difference between the gay bars I went to back in the 80s and now is the lack of smoking inside them. For a non-smoker like me that's been a blessing.
And then there's the hours. The crowd at Hamburger Mary's apparently likes to close the place out. And then continue the partying back at their hotel rooms. It's been quite the while since last I did the bars unto those hours. I may have to start taking "disco naps" in the afternoons to prep. We'll have to see.
It's going to be an interesting learning experience for me. A whole new culture and community. I've learned the gay culture and community. I've learned that leather culture and community. I've also learned the het culture and community. Now I'm to learning about this culture and community.
So, it's my "first time, again."
- Your Comments Are Always Welcome! -
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