timxxx
04-16-2007, 04:54 AM
Channel 4 is showing a Documentary about Miss International Queen' on Tuesday 17 April at 10pm.
Here's what's on the website
http://www.channel4.com/health/microsites/M/mr_miss_world/images/feature2.jpg
Welcome to the world's most fabulous beauty contest, Dahling, and follow the first ever British entrant in the lead-up to the 'Miss International Queen'.
41-year-old Gavin runs a power tool design company in County Durham. At the weekend, he cross-dresses as his glamorous alter ego Leah True and frequents the clubs of London, usually with his girlfriend Sue.
http://www.channel4.com/health/microsites/M/mr_miss_world/images/feature4.jpg
Blessed with a creative eye, he makes elaborate costumes for Leah, a former winner of Miss Alternative London, creating a womanly figure that would make most women green with envy. For Gavin, Leah is a hobby – but one he takes very seriously, despite not having had surgery, and never telling his family.
'I've never liked the sort of ambiguity thing,' he explains. 'If I'm dressed as a guy, I like to look like a guy; if I'm dressed as a woman, I like to look like a woman. I don't like to look like something in between. You know, I'm a guy 99.9% of the time… I don't want people to look at me and think, 'What's that? Is that a boy? Is that girl? What are they all about, they look a bit weird'.'
Leah is a labour of love for Gavin, but he takes huge pleasure in the process each time he transforms into her, saying: 'I class myself as the original designer woman. I designed myself. I put a lot of thought and effort into each little individual part; hair, makeup, figure, shape. I look at her as kind of a work of art; basically, Gavin is the canvas and Leah is painted on top, and that's that I'm looking at. If it was just me looking in the mirror, that wouldn't do anything. But when I'm all made up, with all the hair and the rest of it, the thing I create I find incredibly erotic.'
Like many transvestites, Gavin is straight.
He has a girlfriend, Sue, a cardiac nurse from London. They shop together, and luckily she is the same size as him, so can try on the clothes and shoes that he is too shy to sample from the women's rails.
However, Gavin's family and workmates have no inkling about his secret life. Nor are they aware of the fact that he's about to be the first ever British contestant to enter Miss International Queen in Thailand.
The film chronicles Gavin's journey to Thailand, where 26 contestants have come from all over the world to take part in the pageant, and claim the coveted title and $10,000 up for grabs. The event attracts 10 million television viewers and the Miss International Queen entrants are treated like celebrities.
Arriving in Thailand with Sue, Gavin is overwhelmed. The pageant organizers have a rigid and gruelling schedule for him, leaving precious little time to rehearse and maintain the role of Leah. Living as a man most of his life, Gavin struggles to adopt Leah 24/7 and surrounded by his fellow beauty queens, who are mainly transsexuals and professional performers, the competition becomes fierce. An unnerved Gavin admits, 'At home, I feel quite special. In the tranny world, I look quite good and I usually stand head and shoulders… on top of the tree. I don't feel like that here.'
Along the way, the lives of other entrants are revealed. Darlene, who is Miss Egypt, talks of her hopes and fears and seeks the approval of her mother – she hasn't seen her family in four years, as they object to her gender choice.
As the pressure of the competition intensifies, the strain on Gavin's relationship with Sue becomes only too real.
Gavin: 'It's all a bit much, really. It's a lot to ask of other people. I never thought it'd be this hard. I knew it'd be stressful but if it's affecting other people then it's not fair.'
After Thailand, he faces an even more nerve-wracking experience – revealing all to his mother about his secret life as Leah.
'This is something I've been putting off the past 40-odd years, and I don't think I can put it off any longer. I can feel this wave of nervousness building up inside me. Without this new-found self confidence, I don't think I could actually do what I'm about to do…'
http://www.channel4.com/health/microsites/M/mr_miss_world/index.html
Here's what's on the website
http://www.channel4.com/health/microsites/M/mr_miss_world/images/feature2.jpg
Welcome to the world's most fabulous beauty contest, Dahling, and follow the first ever British entrant in the lead-up to the 'Miss International Queen'.
41-year-old Gavin runs a power tool design company in County Durham. At the weekend, he cross-dresses as his glamorous alter ego Leah True and frequents the clubs of London, usually with his girlfriend Sue.
http://www.channel4.com/health/microsites/M/mr_miss_world/images/feature4.jpg
Blessed with a creative eye, he makes elaborate costumes for Leah, a former winner of Miss Alternative London, creating a womanly figure that would make most women green with envy. For Gavin, Leah is a hobby – but one he takes very seriously, despite not having had surgery, and never telling his family.
'I've never liked the sort of ambiguity thing,' he explains. 'If I'm dressed as a guy, I like to look like a guy; if I'm dressed as a woman, I like to look like a woman. I don't like to look like something in between. You know, I'm a guy 99.9% of the time… I don't want people to look at me and think, 'What's that? Is that a boy? Is that girl? What are they all about, they look a bit weird'.'
Leah is a labour of love for Gavin, but he takes huge pleasure in the process each time he transforms into her, saying: 'I class myself as the original designer woman. I designed myself. I put a lot of thought and effort into each little individual part; hair, makeup, figure, shape. I look at her as kind of a work of art; basically, Gavin is the canvas and Leah is painted on top, and that's that I'm looking at. If it was just me looking in the mirror, that wouldn't do anything. But when I'm all made up, with all the hair and the rest of it, the thing I create I find incredibly erotic.'
Like many transvestites, Gavin is straight.
He has a girlfriend, Sue, a cardiac nurse from London. They shop together, and luckily she is the same size as him, so can try on the clothes and shoes that he is too shy to sample from the women's rails.
However, Gavin's family and workmates have no inkling about his secret life. Nor are they aware of the fact that he's about to be the first ever British contestant to enter Miss International Queen in Thailand.
The film chronicles Gavin's journey to Thailand, where 26 contestants have come from all over the world to take part in the pageant, and claim the coveted title and $10,000 up for grabs. The event attracts 10 million television viewers and the Miss International Queen entrants are treated like celebrities.
Arriving in Thailand with Sue, Gavin is overwhelmed. The pageant organizers have a rigid and gruelling schedule for him, leaving precious little time to rehearse and maintain the role of Leah. Living as a man most of his life, Gavin struggles to adopt Leah 24/7 and surrounded by his fellow beauty queens, who are mainly transsexuals and professional performers, the competition becomes fierce. An unnerved Gavin admits, 'At home, I feel quite special. In the tranny world, I look quite good and I usually stand head and shoulders… on top of the tree. I don't feel like that here.'
Along the way, the lives of other entrants are revealed. Darlene, who is Miss Egypt, talks of her hopes and fears and seeks the approval of her mother – she hasn't seen her family in four years, as they object to her gender choice.
As the pressure of the competition intensifies, the strain on Gavin's relationship with Sue becomes only too real.
Gavin: 'It's all a bit much, really. It's a lot to ask of other people. I never thought it'd be this hard. I knew it'd be stressful but if it's affecting other people then it's not fair.'
After Thailand, he faces an even more nerve-wracking experience – revealing all to his mother about his secret life as Leah.
'This is something I've been putting off the past 40-odd years, and I don't think I can put it off any longer. I can feel this wave of nervousness building up inside me. Without this new-found self confidence, I don't think I could actually do what I'm about to do…'
http://www.channel4.com/health/microsites/M/mr_miss_world/index.html