KIM NOVAK

I recently went to a friend’s exhibition opening in Bethnal Green dressed as Kim Novak in Hitchcock’s Vertigo. This was the first occasion I’d had in a long time to dress glamorously and actually go out to something that wasn’t a fancy dress party, and I felt euphoric. It was the most beautiful that I’d felt in a long time. I started cross dressing as an act against the notion that “Boys can’t wear dresses”, not because I felt that I was a woman, or even had any desire to be. When I do it now, I feel it’s about channelling the powers of both male and female, I want to be strong, glamorous, beautiful and unyielding. I enjoy the element of danger or exhilaration I get from walking the streets in heels and a pencil skirt. I’ve been challenged on the street before for my general appearance and know that I can take whatever abuse is given, or fight back if needed. I feel secure in myself and confident enough to possibly endanger my body.