tranvestite

Short Talk on Geisha

The question of geisha and sex has always been complex. Some do, some don't. In fact, as you know, the first geisha were men (jesters and drummers). There risky patter made the guests laugh. But by 1780 'geisha' meant woman and the glamorous business of the tea houses had been brought under government contol. Some geisha were artists and called themselves 'white'. Others with nicknames like 'cat' or 'tumbler' set up shacks every night on the wide riverbed, to vanish by dawn. The important thing was, someone to yearn for. Whether the quilt was long, or the night was too long, or you were given this place to sleep or that place to sleep, someone to wait for until she is coming along and the grass is stirring, a tomato in her palm.

(Anne Carson. Short Talks. Short Talk on  Geisha. 16)

- See: Artists

Short Talk on Transvestite

The question of transvestite and gender has always been complex. Who does and doesn't. Even though it is believed the term was coined around 1915 in Berlin before any hint of the third gender or the queer community Shakespeare, as you know, bent gender to play with the battle of the sexes. In the streets of Rome, dressed as a woman, I played out the battle of the passive or the active. The response to oppression was either terrorism (The Red Brigade) or heroin ( the junkie). Both set up secret enclaves vanishing in acts of self destruction. The important thing was to burn feverishly for a night. Whether remembered or forgotten life was too long and there was no chance to make it right or to seek salvation or to care for the other the eternal sleep relieved, a stone in her heart. 

(Raymon Montalbetti. Short Talks. Short Talk on Transvestite.)

:: note :: ... the title of street theatre piece referenced was Red Trees ... for Ily ...