WATCH: Pioneer Drag King, Diane Torr on Becoming a Man-For-A-Day And Why I Agree You Should

Hey Tomboys,

Wazzup! Why in the world would women be lining up to be a Man-For-A-Day?  The reason might surprise you.

Let me start out by saying that I can understand "anything-for-a-day" work-shopping. The idea that we might take on being gay for a day, straight for a day, trans for a day, republican for a day, poor for a day, something, anything other than what we are and how we identify. And not in a Miley Cyrus getting shit for appropriating what she shouldn't kinda way, but to really learn, to earnestly grow, to walk a mile in someone else's shoes kinda way. To see how we are privileged and how we are disadvantaged. Of course it would be nice to not have to do this at all, and to do it metaphorically, but I digress.

Man-For-A-Day is a workshop by Diane Torr that allows women to focus on gender expression, specifically on mastering the expression of the masculine.

If you're like me, Diane Torr is a new name. But there are multitudes of others who have known and respected her work for decades. Torr, best known internationally as one of the pioneers of drag king performance, has done a ton of successful stuff, including world wide art and performance instillations, spearheaded festivals that celebrate all things androgyny, and more. Let me put it this way, if SNL needed a woman to successfully play a cast of male characters, Diane Torr would be it by a long shot.

But the thing that snagged my eye was her Man-For-a-Day workshops.

In the Sundance documentary Venus Boyz Torr explains that even the way men look around the room is different than that of women. The way they men move chairs, the way men walk, talk, act. Diane teaches from her perspective of mastering and honing different characters who are men.

So what does this have to do with fashion? Most of the time I angle from tomboy fashion of an androgynous bent because that's where I usually dust off my knees, but I am personally inspired by expression on both sides of the masculine and feminine spectrum. The idea that even the hyper masculine and  hyper feminine are a compliment, especially within one space. I even once argued how the ballet, can inspire tomboy wear.

But my big question after watching this: what can the walk, talk, behavior of men teach us about the masculine as we take it for granted while still identifying in the feminine? I'll say the second part again: what does it teach us that we take for granted still identifying as the feminine?

This is what I'm thinking about this week. I dunno if I've gone deep into Queer Theory waters like I'm back at my woman's college eating a cheese Quesadilla in the hallway at midnight or what. But hey! Watch a clip from Venus Boyz below and see for yourself it sparks any interesting revelations within your expression and if it applies, even a little bit, if at all.

In All Things Tomboy,

Lianna

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Lianna Carrera is a stand-up comedian and comedy writer living in Los Angeles, CA. This space is what happens when a comedian runs a fashion blog. Meet our newest Tomboy fashion blogger, here.