The impossible dream

[Merinda]

Hi ladies ,

Its been a while since I've opened a topic on this forum but this subject is eating at me at the moment and I feel the need to share my thoughts.

My teenage era was the 1970's where I enjoyed the music and my freedom to grow my hair in the same style as the girls , in the 80's I became dated and felt out of place with society and the music of that time didn't do anything for me (with exceptions).
Dis-satisfied with the eighties I explored the music of my younger childhood being that of the 60's , I found that I unearthed a goldmine that had previously passed me by. I looked at the styles of the girls and thought "hey! thats me" , I always enjoy exploring the 60's era since.
I have been inspired many times by watching the girls Go-Go style dancing in the background of music film clips , the shortish skirts and dresses , the headband , the fringe , the long bouncing hair and the medium bob style etc.
I just really want to join in and dance with them but unfortunatly its the impossible dream , I can't go back to the sixties and I need to be a girl for it to work.
Sometimes I just feel like I spend my life in prison , there are things that I would like to do in life but I'm restricted by my gender and todays times.
I guess I'll just have to dream on . sigh!

[Virginia]

Well hon, some styles never seem to go completely out of style, like for example mini-skirts! Now needless to say, I have as we all have, seen minis on some folks that ------ well maybe should have thought more about it before going out in one!

We all have to dream, it opens opportunities for us to consider the "what if" aspect of our existence. Mine would be "what if" I could permanently remove all this hair! Shaving is OK but it is such short term! For example, I and SL would love to take a "bus trip" to some of the local areas of interest, over night. but alas, the "five o' clock shadow" bothers me. Oh, I think I could pass up to that point! but, well, it is a dream right now. I am looking into electrolysis as an alternative - but I digress!

Don't ever stop dreaming!!!!!!!!

Love,

Virginia

[Merinda]

I and SL would love to take a "bus trip" to some of the local areas of interest, over night. but alas, the "five o' clock shadow" bothers me

Hi virginia ,

I have to just about use polyfilla on my face these days , however the 5 o'clock shaddow is slowly being replaced with white and grey whiskers that dont stand out as much.
I would like to have my 16 year old baby face back again , along with the longhair . Another impossible dream.

[Amelie-Laveau]

It's nice to dream, but it's better to live that dream.


I feel that there are two main reasons that prevent most tg’s from living the life they want and that is family concerns and employment. Otherwise, one should be free to do what they wish. Yes, at times people will laugh,, well so what, they have been laughing at me since I was a teen, nothing new there. OK, there are concerns about violence directed towards a cd, well there is also violence directed at people who are not cd, people who live in rough areas are also targets of violence. I was the victim of violence quite a few times, but I think I would have been a target anyway because of where I lived. .In time, one has to learn how to handle themselves, where and when are the safest places and times, to walk about. I guess one can call it “street smarts”. And sometimes a weapon is needed,, yes this might be illegal but it’s better to be tried by 12 than carried by 6.
I find that the night time is the best time for me, I’ve always lived for the night and this is where I feel most comfortable, one can find where their own comfort zone is. One doesn’t have to do things they don’t want to,,, I rarely been to the mall,, maybe once every two years, so there is no desire for me to go there,, even after reading countless stories of mall shopping, I just don’t want to go there. Merinda,, don’t force yourself to do something that seems difficult,, find an easy place to dress, find a comfort place first, and repeat as much as you can. But whatever you do, nothing you do is wrong,, staying home isn’t wrong,, going to drag bars only, isn’t wrong, whatever you do, it will be right for you. Don’t use other peoples experiences as a standard for what you have to do. I hope I wasn’t confusing,, sometimes I get confused. lol



Also,,, I know this might sound mean and harsh, but there are old ladies in my hood that have no choice but to walk among the scum of the city, and I figure that if these old ladies can walk about the streets, then so can I.

But I do agree with ya, Merinda, the 60’s style was soooo cool. Some 60’s styles are incorporated into goth, some of the bright neon stuff, checkered and stripe clothes, and boots are always in fashion with Goths,, but I usually wear sneakers,, as I said “Street smarts”,,, boots are no good when I have to run away from bad guys,, sneakers are my choice of shoes.


PS---I don't have any family and I don't have a real job, so I qualify to do whatever I want.

[Absaroka]

Merinda I'm probably jsut a few years older than you. My teens were late 60's and early 70's.

I don't remember much of the hippie thing. Most of the people I was friends with liked the drugs and free sex but were not long on brotherly love. Nothing so rough as what Amelie learned to deal with but still I remember people deciding to beat someone up for being different (Black) on the way to the peace march to protest the war......I sometimes get very annoyed with how the media presents that period of time as if it was all about the hippies. Most of my high school friends, unlike me, did not go to college, and many of them went into the service; often the navy since by 1971 Viet Nam seemed like a futile cause. No offense to any of the folks here who did serve there. And of course there were the folks who were deemed 4F due to drug problems.

But I loved the music from that time and I actually did hang on to some of the idealism. Or perhaps I should say I finally absorbed the idealism a few years later. And there are things that I can't do. Because one of them is to act like a young woman and I am neither young nor a woman. The best I can do is act like a middle aged crossdresser which is what I am. But it would be fun to dance to the Allmans, the Dead, and some old Santana in a skirt sometime in the company of people like myself. Just like I'd love to climb a mountain in a skirt and hiking boots.

So as Amelie said (and I think her's is one of the best posts on this subject in a while) hang on to your dreams and do what you feel comfortable and want to do. We may surprise ourselves yet.

Absaroka

[Stephanie W]

Hey, nothing wrong with dreams Merinda. Yes, some may seem impossible but some ARE attainable. For many of us who get to the point of bringing our femme selves out into the big wide world, this too was often once an impossible dream that we came to realize. It certainly was for me. Even for those who achieve that, I'm sure many of us still wish we could have been out when we were so much younger, to enjoy those younger clothing styles, be they those sixties minis, the poodle skirts or perhaps even those flapper styles from the Charleston era. I think we all share a sense of wanting to be free to be ourselves, regardless of the decade we grew up in.

As the old saying goes, time waits for no one, so we must make the best of the time and freedom we can still enjoy. Times of the year such as halloween give us the fleeting opportunity to enjoy a slice of our impossible dream and be who we want to be, if only for a moment in time. If we can pull it off for longer, then more power to us, but the reality is that our lives are what we make of them.

Don't despair, just enjoy those opportunities that make Merinda the happiest and that impossible dream may not seem so impossible after all.

Stephanie

[Merinda]

Merinda I'm probably jsut a few years older than you. My teens were late 60's and early 70's.

I sometimes get very annoyed with how the media presents that period of time as if it was all about the hippies. Most of my high school friends, unlike me, did not go to college, and many of them went into the service; often the navy since by 1971 Viet Nam seemed like a futile cause. No offense to any of the folks here who did serve there.

Hi Absaroka I totally agree ,

I often say to my kids that the way the sixties are portrayed in modern day movies is just exagerated hippy nonsense , here in Aus' it was more like the show "My Three Sons" rather than how "Austin Powers" would have us think.
Conscription to Vietnam was always a big fear of mine , our country worked on a lotto type system by randomly drawing out your unlucky number. I well remember the "Save our Sons" protest by the mothers through our city streets , In 1972 at the age of 12 the new Prime Minister (Whitlam) withdrew our troops , PHEEEEEWW! I could then relax for the next 5 years.

[Carol Ann]

Merinda honey,

Oh how I would love to go back to when the wife and I first got married and her and her sister used to dress me up every weekend and we would go out.
In fact I would love to go back to my teenage years when my loving mother helped me along our path and took me at 16 to a shoe store and purchased my first pair of high heels.
Now as the wife and I age she said "NO" to me a lot and said " dress your age".

So in short always remember your dreams. On another note, thank goodness for makeup or I would have to hang it up

[TerriLynn]

I also would love to dress like the girls did in the 60's and early 70's. Some of the blouses and skirts my gf (now my wife) wore then were just 'knockouts' to me. That was when I was just beginning to experiemnt in my dressing too, and I even felt a little jealous .

Today, I have a cpl of denim mini's and a pair of calf high zip boots that look a lot like go-go boots, but they are in black so they match most of the outfits i wear today. But I do, from time to time, try for a retro look, but mostly I dress my age now, which is still cool, for me at least.

Hold on to all those dreams, and dabble when you can, but always stay true to yourself, and dress how you feel.

Terrilynn

[Caith]

For a quick and fun flash back (but not quite so far back!) take a look at the cover of the B-52's newest album "Funplex" Here's a link to their website. FYI, I absolutely LOVE Kaye and Cindy's looks here, even though their previous trademark beehive hairdos are gone.

[Kendra Lynn]

Hello all: Interesting thread here-- I think long discussions may ensue.
If any out there reading this thread have read some of my other postings, you'll remember I also call myself the "hippie cheerleader."(appearance wise, that means a mid '60's-mid 1970's style cheer outfit augmented by a jean jacket or poncho, crocheted shoulder bag, and/or political badges and a peace sign pendant and/or earrings.)
(I do not like the mid riff revealing, super tight outfits some current cheer teams wear, but must also admit I can not wear those styles.)
The combination of cheerleader and "hippie" never existed at my high school (at least not while I was there-- as far as I know-- I graduated in 1969), but I get a real kick out of fusing those two cultural expressions.
I was a hippie sympathizer during my high school days, so the only interactions I had with cheerleaders were from a distance-- at the "pep assemblies" we had to attend, for instance. Always did like how cute and healthy they looked!
Anyhow, I also like the way most teen girls looked back then (mid to late 1960's)-- shirtwaist dresses, cute sweater and skirt combos, "bermuda collar" tops, penny loafers, etc etc. My current "femme" style is a sort of updated version of that combined with hippie accents (which may include one or more of the following: peace sign pendant, peace sign earrings, "dove" pendant, poncho, jean jacket, boots...)
It could be said that my "femme" style is that of my ideal "dream date" and I won't argue with that.
And SOME of my CD photos do look really good-- it's amazing that not only is this modernized '60s school girl look what I like the best, it also seems to be the style that works best for me as a CDer.
As far as the political dreams/aspirations/goals of the "counterculture"-- I remain sympathetic to those perspectives and am very aware that we didn't quite get there.
Peace'n'luv-- Kendra Lynn ("hippie cheerleader")