Sorry, That Last Blog Nearly Killed Me

In celebration of tomorrow (today's?) new Halloween episode of Spitefully Yours, I thought I might drop a slight spoiler and post about a relevant topic most of you likely know nothing about: dressing up like a girl.

On shoots wherein I find myself donning female attire (let's face it, it happens a lot when your most common collaborators are a broad mustached guy and a goon with a huge beard), I consistently make what appears to be a strange request for a female companion on the shoot -- camera girl, script girl, lighting girl, production assistant girl -- whatever, someone female to accompany us for the day. Highly strange given that I rarely (if ever) have gender-specific preferences for crew (cast is always another matter, covered in some other blog). My cohorts have questioned it in the past, and I wouldn't expect them to understand given the frequency of how often they play The Girl in comparison to how often *I* play The Girl.

For those of you who aren't accustomed to dressing up like a girl (real girls need not apply), I thought I might finally give it a try outlining my girl-on-set dilemma and see who can make sense of it.

We'll use Needlemouse as the perfect example -- those of you who saw it know I played several roles, including that of ultra-feminine hedgehog Amy Rose.

Whether they realize it or not, guys have an ingrained code that rarely comes into play, but is as follows: when hanging out with a dude dressed as a girl, all other guys must maintain a distance of at least ten feet away at all times for their own dignities. Trust me, we don't think about it until it happens, but once you're standing in the parking lot wearing a dress, your buddies scatter and let you fend for yourself.

Huh. Buncha tough guys they are...

As embarrassing as a trip to set can be while crossdressed, it gets about ten times weirder when the people you brought avoid you like the plague once you get out in public. You can't blame them -- they're guys, and that's how guys are wired. We dodge each other once attired with cootie-clothes. But it makes a sheepish shoot that much more awkward.

Here's the thing about girls: they don't have the ten-feet-away code. In fact, girls often seem to get a kick out of accompanying their male friends in drag, and can even be a little protective over them. Contrast that with the way other guys will throw you to the wolves, and it's a no-brainer that getting a girl on set to escort you makes your shoot a lot less awkward.

Let it be known that despite all this, I'd still vouch for the Bro Code of ditching the guy in the dress. Guys who are too cool with each other dressed as women have the potential to give off a funny and suspect appearance (probably why we have a natural aversion to our buddies once they're in costume). But when it comes to the comfort you can't get from wearing your own clothes, nothing beats a gal pal walking with you.

Thanks, ladies, for walking us to set when nobody else will. ;)