Review of The Femme's Guide to the Universe by Shar
Rednour
Halloween has always been one of my favorite holidays.
It's not just the candy that captures my attention. It's the gender
madness that happens way before the stroke of midnight on All Hallows
Eve. Men dare to be Barbra Striesand, Audrey Hepburn, and even (gulp)
Christina Aguilera. Women can bare as much skin as the men, or be as
butch as they wanna be. We are Bonnie and Clyde and the X-men, not just
Xena, Warrior Princess. As a young girl unfamiliar with the term exhibitionist,
I reveled in the magic of waking up to find my new purple gypsy costume
and gold tipped slippers to parade around not only my mother's living
room but my grade school gym. Flamboyant spirit was in high demand,
and my reward for strutting my stuff was a baby Snickers bar instead
of a demerit slip.
As an adult, the slip-o.n costume is no longer instantaneous, and you
might feel like Cinderella slaving away on your costume before there
was ever a godmother in sight, or you might simply say "Bah-Humbug!"
to the whole event! Who needs Halloween, you ask? Femmes, that's who!
We femmes are the female version of the drag queen, charming the pants
off everyone, but we're able to wield a wicked tongue when needed. Halloween
is our national holiday. Thanks to Shar Rednour, we now have our own
bible, too. Its called The Femme's Guide to the Universe.
Shar Rednour offers no apology for her outrageous sensibilities and
the sexpert advise she offers in The Femme's Guide. She is just the
leader we need in the face of boring gay pride parades and lackluster
attitudes about donning high heels and feathers, or leather chaps and
a cowboy hat for the queerest holiday known to femmekind. Or, as Shar
would have it, every day is for dress-up and raucous adventures. In
her masterpiece, she gives tips on everything you can think of including
Dazzling on Dimes: Thrifty Decorating Tips (Bring out the Shartiste
in you when throwing the Halloween Bash!) and How to Fuck in High Heels
(for when the guests have gone orr when you invite a few to stay!).
If you need a hot video to play for background entertainment at your
party, Shar and her butch partner Jackie Strano have turned How to Fuck
in High Heels into a feature length sex party that is the uber-femme
half of the fabulous video Hard Love & How to Fuck in High Heels.
The Femme's Guide doesn't give costume ideas for this October's celebration,
but it does give shopping advice and offers help on how to woo a woman.
My favorite tidbit is on taking a 'Disco Nap.' This two-hour nap before
dancing the night away will keep you pretty and witty and gay! Amen.
Ferociously silly and more Barbie-inspired than intellectual (duh!),
The Femme's Guide will make you laugh out loud and zip up your shiniest
boots to go shopping for a new cat suit or a date, whichever turns you
on the most. Shar takes a playful attitude and quick wit into each situation
she describes, and with this guide, so can you. Trick or treating won't
be limited to Halloween. It will be a national past time when you live
life according to Shar.
Supercilious at times, but emphatically playful, this book presents
femmes with a role model who isn't afraid to be "over the top" and gets
what she wants with no apologies. For women who want more access to
being fabulous, flirting with the ladies (and boys), and dressing sexy
for themselves and their butch (and femme) lovers, Shar's guide is the
perfect treat to go with your sassy outfit for October 31st.
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