Peace, Love, and the Femme Revolution

Wonder Woman stands for peace, shouldn’t you?

It’s not all glamour and glitz here in the World of Sublime Femmeness.  Yes,  it’s hard to believe, I know, but I won’t be spending the holiday weekend just reclining on my chaise lounge sipping cocktails.  Why, you ask?  Because I’m appalled that Congress just passed a war spending bill for nearly $100 bilion that will allow President Obama to escalate the war in Afghanistan.  You might not even know about this because the media is giving so little attention to this war.   

(A domestic interruption.)  Van just this minute shouted from the next room to ask me what I’m doing.  When I told her I’m writing about how we need to stop the war in Afghanistan she gasped, “They’re going to think someone else has taken over your blog!”

You don’t really think that, do you?  You all know that The Femme Revolution means fighting for gender/sexual freedom, human rights, and social and international justice.   (In heels, but still.)   I have faith in you, dear readers.  Which is why I’m urging you to support veterans’ anti-war efforts and oppose President Obama’s dangerous expansion of this war.  Talk to your friends and family about why we shouldn’t be committing more troops and billions of dollars to Afghanistan. 

Check out this article, Out of Afghanistan for more info.  And to get your Memorial Day weekend off on the right foot, here are some inspiring words from a TV show that was a shining beacon of American democracy:  

“Wonder Woman!  Now the world is ready for you / and the wonders you can do / Make a hawk a dove, stop a war with love. ”

Need I say more? 😉

Sublimefemme Tells All, No. 21

Femmes are the queens of the queer universe.  Worship accordingly.

Andro-Butch Style

Thought it was time to butch things up around here. 

No, not me, silly!  I’m thinking more like Jenny Shimizu. But wait, I know what you’re thinking. She’s looking femmey as a judge on Bravo’s series Make Me a Supermodel, right? I can understand why she wouldn’t want to get stuck in one look. (I’m lying, actually–I can’t!)  Sigh. The femme-inization of Jenny Shimizu is a sad development for yours truly, so I’m posting some photos of her sizzling andro-butch side.

For inquiring minds, that famous tattoo–which you can see clearly in Ellen Von Unwerth’s photograph–is an image of a pin-up girl riding a crescent wrench.  The lettering on the wrench says “strap-on” instead of  “snap-on,” which is actually Jenny’s preferred brand of hand and power tools. (“I use snap-on, bitch,” she snarled at one interviewer. )  Speaking of which, those motocycles are not just props, girls.  Shimizu is probably the first (and only?) lesbian supermodel who rides bikes and is a mechanic.  Is it hot in here or is it just me?

Come Up and See Me

“Too much of a good thing is wonderful.”         –Mae West

It’s official; I worship at the altar of Mae West. 

Over the weekend Van and I watched West as the bejeweled and bawdy Lady Lou in She Done Him Wrong.  This is the 1933 film in which she delivers the famous line “come up and see me sometime” to a very young Cary Grant.  Really, it’s hard to imagine anyone who wouldn’t.  A pint-sized diva with an oversized personality, she is fearless, hilarious, tough, powerfully sexual, gutsy, and utterly devoid of sentiment and shame.   No wonder I’m smitten!  Even Van, who doesn’t usually like old movies, was amused and humored me as I spent the rest of the evening trying to speak in the burlesque style of Ms. West.  (This is best attempted after a few cocktails, I discovered.)

If there were a Femme Hall of Fame–and there should be!–West would deserve a special place in it for the brilliant campiness she brings to her sex symbol persona.  As most femmes will tell you, one of the biggest misunderstandings we encounter is the myth that being a femme is only or primarily about clothes and appearance.  For me, femmeness is sometimes revealed in a particular fashion or style, but it is often something much more intangible–an attitude, a certain theatricality, a way of being/performing in the world.  As Mae West puts it, “It’s not what I do but how I do it. It’s not what I say but how I say it. And how I look when I’m saying and doing it.”

Ain’t it the truth.

The Cointreau Teese

I’m fiercely loyal in love and cocktails. 

OK, that’s a lie.  But don’t fret, my pretties.  My beloved Van has nothing to worry about; my indiscretions are strictly mixological. 

Since Manhattans are more of a fall/winter cocktail, when the weather warms up I always start thinking about new potions to add to my usual summer cocktail fare of gimlets and margaritas.  This year, I’ve been seduced by The Cointreau Teese (recipe below), a violet cocktail created by Cointreau in honor of Dita Von Teese.   It looks great in the hand when my nails are polished with OPI’s Overexposed in South Beach, which is my favorite purple for spring.  Enjoy–it’s sublimefemmeness in a glass!  😉

 The Cointreau Teese

1 ½ oz. Cointreau
¾ oz. apple juice
½ oz. Monin violet syrup
½ oz. fresh lemon juice

Question of the day:  What’s your drink/cocktail du jour?

UPDATE 7.7.09:  Beware Darlings!  I must confess that this cocktail is much better in theory than practice.  The lavender color pictured here (which is the whole point of the cocktail for me) is extremely difficult to achieve, and I was never able to do so without making the drink excessively sweet.  This can’t be blamed on my poor bartending skills since a reader, Babs, just left a comment describing how she encountered the same problem.  I therefore officially retract my recommendation for the Cointreau Teese.  “Sublimefemmeness in a glass” it ain’t.