Last weekend we got to do our boy-band act again! It is such fun to do because it is very much tongue-in-cheek, but also because it is so much different from what we/ I normally do and look like. And hanging around in a suit boots and tie afterwards at the Finnish Burlesque Gala is rather relaxing as 1) everyone else will be in their most shiniest dressed up to the teeth while I can just sit back on a chair and relax and 2) ah, suits, trousers, pockets; no need for a purse, my hands are free.
However, I think I worry about and check my make-up more than normally ...
I find it a bit hard to do a "proper" masculine make up that does not make me look tired or just "dusty", especially as it has to be strong enough to work for on-stage too. I can make myself all pin-up and showgirl in no time but to get a good looking guy out of me is harder. (Since I'd still want Mr.Freelancer to be kind of handsome you know.) Especially with the hair, to not look all Leo Johnson (90's. Curly Ponytail. Twin Peaks) or like I have a mullet. But this time with my hipsterish-boy-meets-a-young-Justin-Timberlake-meets-Boy-George-curls it worked out a bit better.
It is funny how different clothing and style affects one behaviour. Well, of course, when in drag - and especially for this number, and on occasions like these- when one has a distinct exaggerated character the way one presents onself is often part of the role. But I remember from when working in the harbour how my body language and behaviour differed from other occasions. It was not a thing that happened by choice, but something that came naturally without thinking, due to the environment and the gear, and how I was used to act in it. Once my ex-boyfriend, who was a seaman, came over to our headquarters from his ship to hang out with us during the break. Afterwards he said he was so surprised to see me there in my workwear eating lunch with feet on the table, moving around differently and with a different posture than usual (we lived together at the time and he was used to seeing me slouch around at home, athough, in a different way). That change in how I acted never happened on purpose and was most likely something that had developed over time there - I did work in the harbour for more than a decade and we all worked long shifts, and thus spent a lot of our time there. Still, I also though working there brought out a lot of very feminine sides of me; in many situations you could really see stereotypical differences between me and "the rest of the guys" as in which way we chose to see things or solve issues. Interesting form a social point of view. Also heavier shoes (and pants with some extra room in the crotch) just makes you walk in a different way.
Well back to the boy band parody.
(Picture by Tuomas Lairila.)
